(12953) Jaapvreeling Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 29 September 1973 by van Houten, C. J., van Houten-Groeneveld, I., Gehrels, T. at Palomar.
Jaap Vreeling (1956–2025) was a Dutch amateur astronomer, math teacher and astronomy communicator. He was one of the driving forces behind the Mobile Planetarium project of the Netherlands Research School for Astronomy. After his retirement he initiated the Lynch Planetarium on Sint Eustatius, the first planetarium in the Caribbean.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 5, #17, 17), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Jaapvreeling is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Jaapvreeling is 2.92 au from the Sun and 3.91 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 12953 |
| Provisional designation | 1264 T-2 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 3.30 km (#14,475 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.309 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.57 |
| Orbital period | 4.24 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.62 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.29 – 2.95 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.126 |
| Inclination | 2.17° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.30 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Jaap
All asteroids named after someone called Jaap
Also discovered on 29 September 1973
- (2049) Grietje
- (4357) Korinthos
- (4549) Burkhardt
- (4721) Atahualpa
- (4752) Myron
- (4876) Strabo
- (4978) Seitz
- (5151) Weerstra
- (5197) Rottmann
- (5243) Clasien
- (5244) Amphilochos
- (5266) Rauch