(13293) Mechelen Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 26 August 1998 by E. W. Elst at La Silla.
Mechelen, 25 km south of Antwerp, was settled on the banks of the Dyle river in Gallic-Roman times. In 1303 it became the first seller of wool, and by the late Middle Ages it was a center of the cloth trade. Famous for its St. Rombout tower and Dordoens botanical garden, Michelen is known today for the cultivation of endive, asparagus and cauliflower.Naming citation (20101128/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Mechelen is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Mechelen is 2.40 au from the Sun and 2.29 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 13293 |
| Provisional designation | 1998 QO104 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.53 |
| Orbital period | 3.87 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.46 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.38 – 2.55 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0347 |
| Inclination | 5.79° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.40 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also discovered on 26 August 1998
- (10637) Heimlich
- (12893) Mommert
- (12895) Balbastre
- (12896) Geoffroy
- (21553) Monchicourt
- (21564) Widmanstatten
- (22692) Carfrekahl
- (22694) Tyndall
- (25029) Ludwighesse
- (28078) Mauricehilleman