(13441) Janmerlin Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 24 September 1960 by van Houten, C. J., van Houten-Groeneveld, I., Gehrels, T. at Palomar.
Actor Jan Merlin (b. 1925) played cadet Roger Manning in the 1950 TV series Tom Corbett, Space Cadet. He was the astronavigator on the rocket ship's radar deck and was always on the lookout for asteroids and comets.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 3, #12, 9), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Janmerlin is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Janmerlin is 3.32 au from the Sun and 4.24 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 13441 |
| Provisional designation | 2098 P-L |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 6.35 km (#8,435 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.438 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.02 |
| Orbital period | 4.26 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.63 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 1.94 – 3.32 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.263 |
| Inclination | 11.9° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.937 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Roger
- (4312) Knacke
- (6651) Rogervenable
- (8168) Rogerbourke
- (9452) Rogerpeeters
- (10076) Rogerhill
- (10231) Penrose
- (11833) Dixon
- (13668) Tanner
- (24858) Diethelm
- (25743) Serrato
- (29874) Rogerculver
- (41795) Wiens
All asteroids named after someone called Roger
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