The asteroid named Rosfranklin in Rosalind Franklin’s honor is number 9241.
The object is formally designated 9241 Rosfranklin, combining its permanent number with a name commemorating the English chemist and X-ray crystallographer. It was discovered by Australian amateur astronomer John Broughton at Reedy Creek Observatory in Queensland on 10 August 1997, and initially carried the provisional designation 1997 PE6.
Rosfranklin is a main-belt asteroid, not a comet or a near-Earth asteroid. Its orbit lies roughly three astronomical units from the Sun, placing it in the outer part of the main belt between Mars and Jupiter. The naming recognizes Franklin’s research on molecular structure, especially her X-ray diffraction work on DNA, carbon, and viruses.
A common mix-up is to read “Rosfranklin” as the number itself. The number is 9241; Rosfranklin is the asteroid’s name. Franklin is also commemorated in other scientific names, including the Rosalind Franklin rover planned for Mars exploration.