(72596) Zilkha Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 21 March 2001 by Dellinger, J., Rivich, K. at Needville.
Michael (b. 1954) and Nina (b. 1954) Zilkha are noted Houston, Texas, entrepreneurs and philanthropists. Their chance visit to the George Observatory in the year 2000 led to a generous equipment grant, resulting in hundreds of discoveries of minor planets and of measurements of variable stars.Naming citation (20050125/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Zilkha is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Zilkha is 2.73 au from the Sun and 3.48 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 72596 |
| Provisional designation | 2001 FF9 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 2.80 km (#15,665 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.271 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 15.04 |
| Orbital period | 3.72 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.40 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 1.93 – 2.87 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.194 |
| Inclination | 14.6° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.932 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.