(9661) Hohmann Outer Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 18 March 1996 by Spacewatch at Kitt Peak.
Walter Hohmann (1880-1945) was a German civil engineer and member of the Society for Space Travel. He published the influential book Die Erreichbarkeit der Himmelskorper (“The Attainability of Celestial Bodies”). The name was suggested by R. Jedicke and P. Jedicke.Naming citation (20050523/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Hohmann is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Hohmann is 4.76 au from the Sun and 5.72 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 9661 |
| Provisional designation | 1996 FU13 |
| Orbit class | Outer Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 27.7 km (#1,504 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0700 |
| Rotation period | 5.25 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 11.52 |
| Orbital period | 7.82 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.94 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 3.02 – 4.86 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.233 |
| Inclination | 13.0° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 2.05 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Walter
- (4588) Wislicenus
- (6318) Cronkite
- (7921) Huebner
- (8722) Schirra
- (9132) Walteranderson
- (9187) Walterkroll
- (9577) Gropius
- (9696) Jaffe
- (11789) Kempowski
- (12158) Tape
- (15265) Ernsting
- (15968) Waltercugno
All asteroids named after someone called Walter