(7400) Lenau Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 21 August 1987 by E. W. Elst at La Silla.
Nikolaus Lenau (N. F. Niembsch von Strehlenau, 1802-1850) was an Austrian poet. Unable to settle down to any profession, he started writing verses. Many poems (e.g., Herbst, Schilflieder) were inspired by his hopeless passion for Sophie von Löwenthal. Liszt used his Faust to compose the Mephisto Walzer.Naming citation (20070601/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Lenau is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Lenau is 3.14 au from the Sun and 4.13 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 7400 |
| Provisional designation | 1987 QW1 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 6.30 km (#8,498 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.256 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.44 |
| Orbital period | 5.08 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.95 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.65 – 3.26 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.103 |
| Inclination | 1.98° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.64 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Nikolaus
All asteroids named after someone called Nikolaus
Also discovered on 21 August 1987
- (4038) Kristina
- (4342) Freud
- (4405) Otava
- (5108) Lubeck
- (6120) Anhalt
- (6595) Munizbarreto
- (7009) Hume
- (7401) Toynbee
- (7815) Dolon
- (9307) Regiomontanus
- (14354) Kolesnikov
- (48415) Dehio
More named asteroids discovered by E. W. Elst
- (3631) Sigyn
- (3784) Chopin
- (3870) Mayre
- (3903) Kliment Ohridski
- (3910) Liszt
- (3912) Troja
- (3918) Brel
- (4038) Kristina
- (4226) Damiaan
- (4342) Freud
- (4344) Buxtehude
- (4345) Rachmaninoff
← (7399) Somme · (7401) Toynbee →