(8020) Erzgebirge Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 14 October 1990 by Borngen, F., Schmadel, L. D. at Tautenburg.
Named for a low mountain range along the border of Saxony and Bohemia, about 150 km in length and rich in forests. This region is relatively densely populated, owing to its past richness of silver and tin ore (“Erz”, in German). Pitchblende (“Joachimsthaler Pechblende”), first found in the Erzgebirge, was used by the Curies in 1898 to isolate the radioactive elements polonium and radium. The Sternwarte Drebach, which is situated in Middle Erzgebirge, contributed an extensive series of observations of this minor planet in 1997, thereby enabling it to be numbered. Name proposed by the first discoverer.Naming citation (19980211/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Erzgebirge is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Erzgebirge is 2.05 au from the Sun and 1.33 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 8020 |
| Provisional designation | 1990 TV13 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 5.20 km (#10,256 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.137 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.91 |
| Orbital period | 3.63 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.36 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.03 – 2.69 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.140 |
| Inclination | 8.43° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.03 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also discovered on 14 October 1990
- (5622) Percyjulian
- (5647) Sarojininaidu
- (6447) Terrycole
- (6718) Beiglbock
- (7701) Zrzavy
- (7820) Ianlyon
- (8019) Karachkina
- (8502) Bauhaus
- (8661) Ratzinger
- (10320) Reiland
- (11887) Echemmon
- (13055) Kreppein