(5053) Chladni Main-belt Asteroid

Discovered on 22 March 1985 by E. Bowell at Anderson Mesa.

Named in memory of Ernst Florens Friedrich Chladni (1756–1827), German meteoriticist. Generally regarded as the ‘Father of Meteoritics’, Chladni was initially trained as a lawyer. He never held a permanent position, but he traveled among the great cities of Europe giving lectures. It was on these travels that Chladni's interest turned to meteorites, and in 1794 he published a pioneering book in which he presented convincing evidence that meteorites originate in space. Never before or since has the birth of a scientific discipline been so closely associated with the publication of a single book. Name suggested and citation prepared by T. J. McCoy, who also recently recognized Chladni by the naming of a mineral—chladniite.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 4, #10, 5), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL

Where Chladni is today

Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Chladni is 2.41 au from the Sun and 2.99 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.

Facts

Number	5053
Provisional designation	1985 FB2
Orbit class	Main-belt Asteroid
Diameter	9.59 km (#5,361 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size)
Albedo	0.0740
Rotation period	8.26 hours
Absolute magnitude (H)	13.58
Orbital period	3.71 years
Semi-major axis	2.40 au
Perihelion – aphelion	1.99 – 2.80 au
Eccentricity	0.168
Inclination	11.5°
Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID)	1.01 au

Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.

Also named after someone called Ernst

All asteroids named after someone called Ernst

Also discovered on 22 March 1985

More named asteroids discovered by E. Bowell

All 554

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