(13118) La Harpe Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 20 October 1993 by E. W. Elst at La Silla.
Jean François de la Harpe (1739-1803) was a French writer and a bitter and caustic man. Although unsuccessful in his other writings, he will be always remembered for his Abrégé de l´Histoire générale des Voyages (1780), a 32-volume set that gives a complete review of famous voyages during historical times.Naming citation (20050407/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where La Harpe is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: La Harpe is 3.08 au from the Sun and 3.83 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 13118 |
| Provisional designation | 1993 UX4 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 9.04 km (#5,727 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.180 |
| Rotation period | 5.06 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.17 |
| Orbital period | 5.18 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.99 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.77 – 3.21 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0735 |
| Inclination | 11.5° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.76 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Jean
- (2221) Chilton
- (2267) Agassiz
- (3821) Sonet
- (8116) Jeanperrin
- (8604) Vanier
- (9138) Murdoch
- (9968) Serpe
- (10111) Fresnel
- (10215) Lavilledemirmont
- (10440) van Swinden
- (12286) Poiseuille
- (12498) Dragesco
All asteroids named after someone called Jean