(11823) Christen Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 2 November 1981 by B. A. Skiff at Anderson Mesa.
Roland W. Christen (b. 1944) is an optician and maker of affordable apochromatic refractors at the forefront of mechanical and optical design. The citation was provided by S. and A. French.Naming citation (20000124/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Christen is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Christen is 2.88 au from the Sun and 3.59 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 11823 |
| Provisional designation | 1981 VF |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 4.15 km (#12,383 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.292 |
| Rotation period | 16.3 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.34 |
| Orbital period | 3.65 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.37 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 1.78 – 2.96 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.248 |
| Inclination | 4.87° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.781 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Roland
- (10087) Dechesne
- (11585) Orlandelassus
- (12870) Rolandmeier
- (26984) Fernand-Roland
- (28105) Santallo
- (31387) Lehoucq
- (79842) Jourdain
- (362420) Rolandgarros
- (428102) Rolandwagner
All asteroids named after someone called Roland
Also discovered on 2 November 1981
- (2525) O'Steen
- (2588) Flavia
- (3434) Hurless
- (5049) Sherlock
- (7863) Turnbull
- (13001) Woodney
- (13487) Novosyadlyj