6470 Aldrin
Main-belt asteroid
title: "6470 Aldrin" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["flora-asteroids", "discoveries-by-antonín-mrkos", "named-minor-planets", "buzz-aldrin", "astronomical-objects-discovered-in-1982"] description: "Main-belt asteroid" topic_path: "general/flora-asteroids" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6470_Aldrin" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Main-belt asteroid ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox planet"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| minorplanet | yes |
| name | 6470 Aldrin |
| background | #D6D6D6 |
| discovery_ref | |
| discovered | 14 September 1982 |
| discoverer | A. Mrkos |
| discovery_site | Kleť Obs. |
| mpc_name | (6470) Aldrin |
| alt_names | |
| named_after | Buzz Aldrin |
| (astronaut, Apollo 11) | |
| mp_category | main-beltFlora |
| orbit_ref | |
| epoch | 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) |
| uncertainty | 0 |
| observation_arc | 34.18 yr (12,485 days) |
| aphelion | 2.6217 AU |
| perihelion | 1.9283 AU |
| semimajor | 2.2750 AU |
| eccentricity | 0.1524 |
| period | 3.43 yr (1,253 days) |
| mean_anomaly | 43.625° |
| mean_motion | / day |
| inclination | 2.7915° |
| asc_node | 237.94° |
| arg_peri | 152.48° |
| dimensions | 3.00 km (calculated) |
| rotation | h |
| albedo | 0.24 (assumed) |
| spectral_type | S |
| abs_magnitude | 14.3 (R)14.78 |
| :: |
| minorplanet = yes | name = 6470 Aldrin | background = #D6D6D6 | image = | image_size = | caption = | discovery_ref = | discovered = 14 September 1982 | discoverer = A. Mrkos | discovery_site = Kleť Obs. | mpc_name = (6470) Aldrin | alt_names = | named_after = Buzz Aldrin (astronaut, Apollo 11) | mp_category = main-beltFlora | orbit_ref = | epoch = 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | uncertainty = 0 | observation_arc = 34.18 yr (12,485 days) | aphelion = 2.6217 AU | perihelion = 1.9283 AU | semimajor = 2.2750 AU | eccentricity = 0.1524 | period = 3.43 yr (1,253 days) | mean_anomaly = 43.625° | mean_motion = / day | inclination = 2.7915° | asc_node = 237.94° | arg_peri = 152.48° | dimensions = 3.00 km (calculated) | rotation = h | albedo = 0.24 (assumed) | spectral_type = S | abs_magnitude = 14.3 (R)14.78
6470 Aldrin, provisional designation , is a stony Flora asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 3 kilometers in diameter.
The asteroid was discovered by Czech astronomer Antonín Mrkos at Kleť Observatory on 14 September 1982. It was named for American astronaut Buzz Aldrin.
Orbit and classification
Aldrin is a member of the Flora family, one of the largest groups of stony asteroids in the main-belt. It orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.9–2.6 AU once every 3 years and 5 months (1,253 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.15 and an inclination of 3° with respect to the ecliptic. The asteroid's observation arc begins in 1982, as no precoveries were taken and no prior identifications were made.
Physical characteristics
A rotational lightcurve of Aldrin was obtained from photometric observations made at the U.S. Palomar Transient Factory in September 2013. The lightcurve gave a rotation period of hours with a brightness variation of 0.82 in magnitude ().
The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.24 – derived from 8 Flora, the largest member and namesake of this orbital family – and calculates a diameter of 3.0 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 14.78.
Naming
This minor planet was named for American astronaut Buzz Aldrin (born 1930), on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission.
He was one of the first two humans to land on the Moon, and the second person to walk on it, following Neil Armstrong, after whom the asteroid 6469 Armstrong is named. Its name was suggested by Czech astronomers Jana Tichá, Miloš Tichý and Zdeněk Moravec, who observed the asteroid during its 1995-opposition, shortly before being numbered. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 4 May 1999 (M.P.C. 34623).
References
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::