(5015) Litke Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 1 November 1975 by T. M. Smirnova at Nauchnyj.
Named for Fedor Petrovich Litke (1797-1882), Russian navigator and geographer, investigator of the Arctic regions, admiral and scientist, president of the Imperial Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg during 1864-1882. His name is often found on world maps.Naming citation (19980211/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Litke is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Litke is 2.06 au from the Sun and 1.51 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 5015 |
| Provisional designation | 1975 VP |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 4.14 km (#12,393 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.253 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.2 |
| Orbital period | 3.21 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.18 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 1.90 – 2.45 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.124 |
| Inclination | 3.36° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.916 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Fedor
All asteroids named after someone called Fedor