(7940) Erichmeyer Main-belt Asteroid

Discovered on 13 March 1991 by Oak Ridge Observatory at Harvard.

Named in honor of Erich Meyer (b. 1951), Austrian amateur astronomer, on the occasion of his 20th anniversary as an astrometricist. Using a measuring engine he constructed himself, Meyer measured about 250 precise positions of minor planets and comets from photographic plates. Among the 2600 positions he derived after switching to CCD equipment in 1993 are some for the 1997 opposition of this object, thereby rendering it appropriate for numbering. An electrical engineer by profession, Meyer is also a well-known astrophotographer and popularizer of astronomy.Naming citation (19980610/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL

Where Erichmeyer is today

Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Erichmeyer is 2.72 au from the Sun and 3.05 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.

Facts

Number	7940
Provisional designation	1991 EO1
Orbit class	Main-belt Asteroid
Absolute magnitude (H)	13.85
Orbital period	4.28 years
Semi-major axis	2.64 au
Perihelion – aphelion	2.40 – 2.87 au
Eccentricity	0.0880
Inclination	3.72°
Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID)	1.41 au

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

Also named after someone called Erich

All asteroids named after someone called Erich

Also discovered on 13 March 1991

(9179) Satchmo

More named asteroids discovered by Oak Ridge Observatory

All 28

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