2940 Bacon, also designated 3042 P–L, is an asteroid from the asteroid belt that was discovered on September 24, 1960 by Cornelis van Houten, Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld and Tom Gehrels at Palomar Observatory in San Diego County, California. The asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.1–3.4 AU once every 4 years and 8 months (1,696 days). The orbit is rather eccentric (0.24). It was named in honour of English scholar Sir Francis Bacon (1561–1626). He has been called the father of empiricism and his works established and popularized the scientific method.