[2][8] Smuts orbits the Sun in the outer main-belt at a distance of 2.8–3.6 AU once every 5 years and 8 months (2,060 days).
[3] In March 2008, a rotational lightcurve of Smuts was obtained from photometric observations by French amateur astronomer René Roy.
[4][5][6] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link derives an albedo of 0.0385 and a diameter of 53.83 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 10.5.
[3] This minor planet was named after prominent South African and British Commonwealth statesman, Field Marshal and philosopher, Jan Smuts (1870–1950), under whom the discoverer of the asteroid fought in both World Wars.
[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 20 February 1976 (M.P.C.