360892

360892 is the permanent numerical designation assigned by the Minor Planet Center to a small Solar System body, most commonly an asteroid. The number indicates it was the 360,892nd minor planet to have its orbit sufficiently well determined to warrant a permanent designation.

Discovery and designation ideas are part of the standard process for minor planets. Objects begin with provisional designations that encode the year of discovery and a code for the order of discovery. When enough observations establish a reliable orbit, the Minor Planet Center assigns a permanent number. The discoverers may propose a name, which, after review and approval by the International Astronomical Union, may replace the numeric designation in common usage.

Orbit and classification data for such objects are stored in the MPC database. Typical orbital information includes elements such as semi-major axis, eccentricity, inclination, and orbital period. While many numbered minor planets reside in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, others belong to near-Earth populations or more distant regions of the Solar System.

Context and significance: The numbering system reflects the scale of asteroid discovery and cataloging, produced by decades of wide-field surveys and follow-up observations. As new objects are confirmed, their numbers accumulate, contributing to a growing, centralized record of small bodies in the Solar System.