(7907) Erasmus Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 24 September 1960 by van Houten, C. J., van Houten-Groeneveld, I., Gehrels, T. at Palomar.
Erasmus of Rotterdam (1469-1536) was the son of a priest and became a priest himself. In 1517 he was released by the pope from his holy vows, becoming an advisor to the emperor Charles V. He published papers critical of the practices of the Church; eventually he became the father of European humanism. He translated the classics, books of the church fathers and the New Testament into Latin in a critical way. His collection of proverbs helped shed new light on ancient literature and influenced religion, art and sciences.Naming citation (19981005/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Erasmus is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Erasmus is 2.83 au from the Sun and 2.49 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 7907 |
| Provisional designation | 4047 P-L |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.24 |
| Orbital period | 4.64 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.78 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.73 – 2.83 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0183 |
| Inclination | 2.07° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.72 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also discovered on 24 September 1960
- (1743) Schmidt
- (1744) Harriet
- (1776) Kuiper
- (1777) Gehrels
- (1795) Woltjer
- (1808) Bellerophon
- (1809) Prometheus
- (1810) Epimetheus
- (1811) Bruwer
- (1812) Gilgamesh
- (1846) Bengt
- (1868) Thersites