(6012) Williammurdoch Main-belt Asteroid

Discovered on 22 September 1990 by R. H. McNaught at Siding Spring.

William Murdoch (1754-1839) was a Scottish engineer, whose wide ranging inventions and developments were often unacknowledged in his lifetime. These developments include gas lighting, the pneumatic messaging system, the steam gun, advances in steam engines, and locomotion on land and sea.Naming citation (MPC batch dated 2014-08-10), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL

Where Williammurdoch is today

MercuryVenusEarthEarthMarsMarsWilliammurdochWilliammurdoch

Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Williammurdoch is 3.52 au from the Sun and 3.87 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.

Facts

Number6012
Provisional designation1990 SK4
Orbit classMain-belt Asteroid
Diameter6.23 km (#8,597 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size)
Albedo0.239
Rotation period2.89 hours
Absolute magnitude (H)13.3
Orbital period4.28 years
Semi-major axis2.63 au
Perihelion – aphelion1.73 – 3.54 au
Eccentricity0.344
Inclination18.2°
Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID)0.808 au

Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.

Also named after someone called William

All asteroids named after someone called William

Also discovered on 22 September 1990

More named asteroids discovered by R. H. McNaught

All 115

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