(19139) Apian Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 6 April 1989 by F. Borngen at Tautenburg.
German mathematician and cartographer Peter Apian (1495-1552) made astronomical instruments. His major work, the Astronomicum Caesareum, is a sumptuous atlas of the skies, with revolving paper models for computations. He was the first European to illustrate that tails of comets always point away from the sun.Naming citation (20021120/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Apian is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Apian is 2.78 au from the Sun and 3.78 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 19139 |
| Provisional designation | 1989 GJ8 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 5.64 km (#9,496 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.265 |
| Rotation period | 6.69 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.65 |
| Orbital period | 4.15 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.58 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.38 – 2.78 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0776 |
| Inclination | 8.01° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.39 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
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