| Minorplanet: | yes |
| 8990 Compassion | |
| Background: |
|
| Discovered: | 19 February 1980 |
| Mpc Name: | (8990) Compassion |
| Named After: | Compassion |
| Epoch: | 17 October 2024 (JD 2460600.5) |
| Uncertainty: | 0 |
| Observation Arc: | 44.78 yr (16,345 days) |
| Perihelion: | 2.8435485 |
| Semimajor: | 3.1544485 AU |
| Eccentricity: | 0.09856 |
| Mean Motion: | / day |
| Inclination: | 8.0502° |
| Asc Node: | 128.2425° |
| Arg Peri: | 74.725° |
| Dimensions: | 16.624 km |
| Albedo: | 0.064 |
8990 Compassion, provisional designation 1980 DN, is an asteroid from the outer regions of the asteroid belt, about 17 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 19 February 1980 by astronomers from the Kleť Observatory, in what is then Czechoslovakia and now is the Czech Republic. The asteroid was named in response to the September 11 attacks.
This minor planet was named "Compassion" in response to the September 11 attacks. As a commemorative gesture, the IAU's Committee for the Nomenclature of Small Bodies chose three objects discovered in observatories on different continents and christened them with names representing some of the most basic and universal human values. The other two selections were 8991 Solidarity (discovered from South America) and 8992 Magnanimity (discovered from Asia). The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 2 October 2001 (M.P.C. 43684).[1]