(10972) Merbold Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 29 September 1973 by van Houten, C. J., van Houten-Groeneveld, I., Gehrels, T. at Palomar.
In 1983 and 1988, the German physicist Ulf Merbold was the first European astronaut to perform research on board the Space Shuttle with the European Space Agency's Spacelab. This was followed in 1994 by four weeks as an ESA astronaut on the Russian Mir Space Station. The name was suggested by H. Graf.Naming citation (20080520/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Merbold is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Merbold is 2.42 au from the Sun and 2.28 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 10972 |
| Provisional designation | 1188 T-2 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 5.30 km (#10,057 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.229 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.95 |
| Orbital period | 3.84 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.45 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.22 – 2.68 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0922 |
| Inclination | 2.33° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.22 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Ulf
All asteroids named after someone called Ulf
Also discovered on 29 September 1973
- (2049) Grietje
- (4357) Korinthos
- (4549) Burkhardt
- (4721) Atahualpa
- (4752) Myron
- (4876) Strabo
- (4978) Seitz
- (5151) Weerstra
- (5197) Rottmann
- (5243) Clasien
- (5244) Amphilochos
- (5266) Rauch