(198971) Whitacre Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 31 October 2005 by D. J. Tholen at Mauna Kea.
Eric Whitacre (b. 1970) is an American composer. His 2015 composition Deep Field was inspired by the Hubble Space Telescope's Deep Field image. The composition combines the beauty of instrumental and choral music with the grandeur of the universe in the accompanying video.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 5, #5, 25), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Whitacre is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Whitacre is 3.40 au from the Sun and 3.74 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 198971 |
| Provisional designation | 2005 UU512 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 16.45 |
| Orbital period | 5.36 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.06 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.66 – 3.47 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.131 |
| Inclination | 1.36° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.65 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
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