4923 Clarke is an asteroid

Asteroid

Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...

. It was discovered on March 2, 1981 by Schelte J. Bus

Schelte J. Bus

Schelte John "Bobby" Bus is an Associate Astronomer at the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy and Support Astronomer at NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility IRTF. He received his B.S. from Caltech in 1979, and was awarded his Ph.D from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1999.Bus...

 who also discovered 5020 Asimov

5020 Asimov

5020 Asimov is an asteroid discovered March 2, 1981 by Schelte J. Bus, who also discovered 4923 Clarke on the same day. It is named after Isaac Asimov, the prolific American science fiction author. On average, the asteroid has an apparent magnitude of 9.4....

 on the same day. It orbits within the main asteroid belt

Asteroid belt

The asteroid belt is the region of the Solar System located roughly between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter. It is occupied by numerous irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids or minor planets...

.

The asteroid is named after the science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 writer Arthur C. Clarke

Arthur C. Clarke

Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, famous for his short stories and novels, among them 2001: A Space Odyssey, and as a host and commentator in the British television series Mysterious World. For many years, Robert A. Heinlein,...

, author of 2001: A Space Odyssey

2001: A Space Odyssey (novel)

2001: A Space Odyssey is a science fiction novel by Arthur C. Clarke. It was developed concurrently with Stanley Kubrick's film version and published after the release of the film...

. In the postscript to his novel 3001: The Final Odyssey

3001: The Final Odyssey

3001: The Final Odyssey is a science fiction novel by Sir Arthur C. Clarke. It is the fourth and final book in Clarke's Space Odyssey series.-Plot summary:...

, Clarke jokingly expresses disappointment that he did not receive asteroid 2001

2001 Einstein

2001 Einstein is an inner main belt asteroid discovered on March 5, 1973. It is a member of the Hungaria family. It is named in honour of the German-American physicist and Nobelist Albert Einstein....

 as his namesake, instead it was named for Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...

.