(7873) Boll Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 15 January 1991 by F. Borngen at Tautenburg.
Named in honor of Heinrich Böll (1917-1985), outstanding German writer. In his work he described the reality of World War II and the postwar era, mostly through the fate of ordinary people. A democrat with great historical farsightedness, he defended the liberty of the mind whenever it was endangered. In 1971-1974, he was president of the International PEN club. His receipt of the Nobel Prize in literature in 1972 was the visible sign of his appreciation worldwide.Naming citation (19980411/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Boll is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Boll is 2.77 au from the Sun and 3.65 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 7873 |
| Provisional designation | 1991 AE3 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 6.18 km (#8,667 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.292 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.28 |
| Orbital period | 4.28 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.63 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.34 – 2.93 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.112 |
| Inclination | 5.10° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.34 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Heinrich
- (3635) Kreutz
- (4297) Eichhorn
- (5762) Wanke
- (8053) Kleist
- (8811) Waltherschmadel
- (9133) d'Arrest
- (10509) Heinrichkayser
- (15273) Ruhmkorff
- (15724) Zille
- (16761) Hertz
- (31032) Scheidemann
- (215868) Rohrer
All asteroids named after someone called Heinrich
Also discovered on 15 January 1991
- (6320) Bremen
- (6396) Schleswig
- (9336) Altenburg
- (9854) Karlheinz
- (10774) Eisenach
- (10775) Leipzig
- (16522) Tell
- (29197) Gleim
- (30836) Schnittke
- (30837) Steinheil
- (55749) Eulenspiegel