(7020) Yourcenar Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 4 April 1992 by E. W. Elst at La Silla.
Named in memory of the French-Belgian-American writer Marguerite Yourcenar (Marguerite de Crayencour, 1903–1987). Well known for her novels, essays and short stories, she also did translational work. In the historical novel Mémoires d'Hadrien (1951), she explored the world and thoughts of the fascinating second-century Roman emperor and meditated on human destiny, morality and power. Her 1968 L'oeuvre au noir (The Abyss) is an erudite evocation of the medieval spirit in Flanders and Italy by means of the life of a fictitious sixteenth-century alchemist and philosopher. In 1980 she became the first woman writer to be elected to the prestigious French Academy. Citation prepared by K. Leterme at the request of the discoverer.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 3, #13, 6), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Yourcenar is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Yourcenar is 2.15 au from the Sun and 2.86 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 7020 |
| Provisional designation | 1992 GR2 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 9.06 km (#5,711 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0710 |
| Rotation period | 10.2 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.15 |
| Orbital period | 3.78 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.43 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.01 – 2.84 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.171 |
| Inclination | 2.46° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.998 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also discovered on 4 April 1992
- (6972) Helvetius
- (7343) Ockeghem
- (8521) Boulainvilliers
- (8685) Faure
- (8872) Ebenum
- (10797) Guatemala
- (11908) Nicaragua
- (17506) Walschap