(5523) Luminet Main-belt Asteroid

Discovered on 5 August 1991 by H. E. Holt at Palomar.

Named in honor of Jean-Pierre Luminet (b. 1951), French researcher at the Paris Observatory. Luminet specializes in general relativity and its applications to cosmology and astrophysics. He was the first to “visualize” numerically accretion disks around black holes, and he discovered the phenomenon of “crèpe stellaire”, which causes the crushing of stars by the tidal forces of giant black holes. In cosmology, Luminet proposed a series of models of “univers chiffonnés”, in which complex topologies create ghost images. He is deeply involved in science outreach, both by publishing popular books and as a TV broadcaster. Name suggested and citation prepared by M. A. Barucci.Naming citation (19990728/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL

Where Luminet is today

Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Luminet is 2.87 au from the Sun and 2.65 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.

Facts

Number	5523
Provisional designation	1991 PH8
Orbit class	Main-belt Asteroid
Diameter	8.09 km (#6,481 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size)
Albedo	0.224
Rotation period	53.3 hours
Absolute magnitude (H)	13.03
Orbital period	4.77 years
Semi-major axis	2.83 au
Perihelion – aphelion	2.80 – 2.87 au
Eccentricity	0.0121
Inclination	3.36°
Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID)	1.78 au

Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.

Also named after someone called Pierre

All asteroids named after someone called Pierre

Also discovered on 5 August 1991

More named asteroids discovered by H. E. Holt

All 119

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