(16450) Messerschmidt Outer Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 26 September 1989 by E. W. Elst at La Silla.
During 1719-1728 German naturalist Daniel Gottlieb Messerschmidt (1685-1735) was sent by Peter the Great on a expedition to Siberia. The first person to study systematically the “rumors” about “frozen” mammoths, he investigated thoroughly Siberian fauna and flora, as well as its mineralogy and geography.Naming citation (20060613/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Messerschmidt is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Messerschmidt is 3.32 au from the Sun and 4.09 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 16450 |
| Provisional designation | 1989 SY2 |
| Orbit class | Outer Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 13.9 km (#3,417 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0760 |
| Rotation period | 7.08 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.03 |
| Orbital period | 5.78 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.22 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.93 – 3.51 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0891 |
| Inclination | 5.91° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.92 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Daniel
- (6141) Durda
- (7162) Sidwell
- (7163) Barenboim
- (8109) Danielwilliam
- (8887) Scheeres
- (10081) Dantaylor
- (10482) Dangrieser
- (11203) Danielbetten
- (11230) Deschaffer
- (11596) Francetic
- (12503) Danielpeterson
- (13267) Bolechowski
All asteroids named after someone called Daniel
Also discovered on 26 September 1989
- (4798) Mercator
- (5351) Diderot
- (5873) Archilochos
- (6240) Lucretius Carus
- (6777) Balakirev
- (6826) Lavoisier
- (7056) Kierkegaard
- (7647) Etrepigny
- (7934) Sinatra
- (8488) d'Argens
- (8649) Juglans
- (8834) Anacardium