(11789) Kempowski Inner Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 5 September 1977 by H.-E. Schuster at La Silla.
Walter Kempowski (b. 1929) is one of the most important contemporary German writers. He has published more than 40 books that deal mainly with German history during the twentieth century.Naming citation (20040928/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Kempowski is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Kempowski is 2.04 au from the Sun and 1.39 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 11789 |
| Provisional designation | 1977 RK |
| Orbit class | Inner Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 2.23 km (#16,717 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.615 |
| Rotation period | 48.6 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.92 |
| Orbital period | 2.73 years |
| Semi-major axis | 1.95 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 1.85 – 2.05 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0497 |
| Inclination | 21.4° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.869 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
- (9661) Hohmann
- (9696) Jaffe
- (12158) Tape
- (15265) Ernsting
- (15968) Waltercugno
All asteroids named after someone called Walter