(12688) Baekeland Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 13 February 1988 by E. W. Elst at La Silla.
Leo Hendrik Baekeland (1863-1944) was a Flemish chemist and inventor who in 1890 discovered a new kind of photographic paper. His most renowned discovery is surely Bakelite, an electrically insulating substance from which he developed the first fully synthetic plastic in 1909.Naming citation (20040713/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Baekeland is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Baekeland is 3.10 au from the Sun and 2.93 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 12688 |
| Provisional designation | 1988 CK4 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 5.26 km (#10,113 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.305 |
| Rotation period | 3.47 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.63 |
| Orbital period | 4.40 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.69 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.27 – 3.10 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.156 |
| Inclination | 12.1° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.25 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Leo
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All asteroids named after someone called Leo
Also discovered on 13 February 1988
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- (4636) Chile
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- (6036) Weinberg
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