(7971) Meckbach Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 17 October 1960 by van Houten, C. J., van Houten-Groeneveld, I., Gehrels, T. at Palomar.
Named in memory of Wolfgang Meckbach (1919-1998), microwave spectroscopist who emigrated from Germany to Argentina in 1951, where he became the co-founder of the Centro Atómico Bariloche and founder of the Bariloche school of atomic collision physics. In spite of difficult times, he excelled as a teacher and researcher in atomic collision physics using ion penetration through matter. By sad coincidence, the name was proposed just as Meckbach suffered a fatal heart attack while skiing. Name proposed and citation prepared by K.-O. Groeneveld.Naming citation (19981208/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Meckbach is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Meckbach is 2.79 au from the Sun and 1.94 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 7971 |
| Provisional designation | 9002 P-L |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.72 |
| Orbital period | 4.13 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.57 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.29 – 2.86 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.110 |
| Inclination | 14.0° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.29 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
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