1990EN

1990 EN is the provisional designation assigned by the Minor Planet Center to a specific minor planet in the Solar System. Provisional designations are used to identify newly observed objects before their orbits are well determined. The code 1990 EN signals that the object was first observed in the year 1990 and assigned a two-letter suffix that encodes its discovery timing and sequence within that period. The exact interpretation of the letters describes the half-month of discovery and the order of discovery within that interval.

As with other minor planets, 1990 EN would be tracked by astronomers who collect astrometric observations to determine its orbital elements, such as semi-major axis, eccentricity, and inclination. If sufficient observations exist to compute a reliable orbit, the object may receive a permanent numerical designation, and its discoverers may propose a name approved by the International Astronomical Union.

In catalogs and databases, information about 1990 EN would be maintained by the Minor Planet Center and cross-referenced by the JPL Small-Body Database and other scientific resources. For many provisional-designation objects, detailed physical characteristics—such as size, composition, and rotation—remain uncertain or unknown until targeted observations are conducted.

The designation 1990 EN thus functions primarily as a bookkeeping identifier within the process of cataloging and tracking small bodies in the Solar System, rather than as a descriptor of its physical properties.