(8031) Williamdana Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 7 March 1992 by Ueda, S., Kaneda, H. at Kushiro.
NASA research pilot William Dana (b. 1930) was the eleventh pilot to fly the X-15 and made a total of 16 flights. These included a 1967 flight to 93500 meters and he received NASA astronaut wings in 2005. Dana made the 199th and final X-15 flight in 1968 and subsequently flew the M2-F3 and HL-10 lifting bodies.Naming citation (20120207/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Williamdana is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Williamdana is 2.17 au from the Sun and 3.00 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 8031 |
| Provisional designation | 1992 ER |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Rotation period | 8.80 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.03 |
| Orbital period | 3.47 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.29 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.15 – 2.44 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0631 |
| Inclination | 7.61° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.18 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
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