(12948) Nathaliedegenaar Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 26 March 1971 by van Houten, C. J., van Houten-Groeneveld, I., Gehrels, T. at Palomar.
Nathalie Degenaar (b. 1980) is a Dutch astronomer, specializing in the study of neutron stars and black holes. She is an excellent communicator and frequently appears on podcasts, radio and TV.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 5, #17, 16), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Nathaliedegenaar is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Nathaliedegenaar is 3.02 au from the Sun and 4.01 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 12948 |
| Provisional designation | 4273 T-1 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 5.38 km (#9,924 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.140 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.41 |
| Orbital period | 5.03 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.93 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.59 – 3.28 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.118 |
| Inclination | 5.72° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.61 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Nathalie
All asteroids named after someone called Nathalie
Also discovered on 26 March 1971
- (5195) Kaendler
- (5491) Kaulbach
- (5492) Thoma
- (5698) Nolde
- (6202) Georgemiley
- (6257) Thorvaldsen
- (6351) Neumann
- (6429) Brancusi
- (6674) Cezanne
- (6752) Ashley
- (7367) Giotto
- (7908) Zwingli