194998

194998 is a minor planet discovered on 15 July 2002 by the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) program at the Lincoln Laboratory’s Experimental Test Site in Socorro, New Mexico. The asteroid received its provisional designation 2002 KD12 before being numbered by the Minor Planet Center. It is a member of the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Its orbit is characterized by a semi‑major axis of about 2.56 astronomical units, an eccentricity of roughly 0.17, and an inclination of approximately 9°. From the asteroid’s brightness (absolute magnitude 14.6) and assumed albedo of 0.15, its diameter is estimated to be about 4.8 kilometers. The rotation period, color indices, and spectral type have not yet been determined. No official name has been assigned to 194998 as of the latest published data. The asteroid’s physical characteristics and orbital parameters are accessed through the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Small‑Body Database and the asteroid database maintained by the Minor Planet Center.