(7854) Laotse Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 17 October 1977 by van Houten, C. J., van Houten-Groeneveld, I., Gehrels, T. at Palomar.
Named after Laotse (sixth century B.C.), the famous Chinese philosopher. He worked at the court of the emperor as a registrar, and it is said that he became a hermit and went to the West. Before he left, he was asked to record his doctrine. The result is the famous book of Tao, Tao-Te-King, which describes the origin of the universe and of Te, the strength possessed by all human beings.Naming citation (19981005/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Laotse is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Laotse is 2.66 au from the Sun and 3.65 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 7854 |
| Provisional designation | 1076 T-3 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 3.15 km (#14,828 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.339 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.13 |
| Orbital period | 3.38 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.25 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 1.84 – 2.66 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.182 |
| Inclination | 6.65° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.853 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also discovered on 17 October 1977
- (4043) Perolof
- (6147) Straub
- (7447) Marcusaurelius
- (8440) Wigeon
- (9825) Oetken
- (10981) Fransaris
- (11773) Schouten
- (11774) Jerne
- (12648) Ibarbourou
- (34978) van 't Hoff
- (55701) Ukalegon
- (55702) Thymoitos