(5992) Nittler Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 28 February 1981 by S. J. Bus at Siding Spring.
Larry Nittler (b. 1969), a scientist at the Carnegie Institute of Washington, is well known for his innovative work on identifying presolar grains in meteorites and using them as probes of stellar processes. His work on the NEAR mission to (433) Eros helped provide the first chemical analyses of a minor planet.Naming citation (20020624/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Nittler is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Nittler is 2.83 au from the Sun and 2.26 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 5992 |
| Provisional designation | 1981 DZ |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.9 |
| Orbital period | 4.38 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.68 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.44 – 2.92 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0889 |
| Inclination | 8.97° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.44 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Larry
- (9069) Hovland
- (10274) Larryevans
- (12267) Denneau
- (12992) Crumpler
- (14598) Larrysmith
- (15548) Kalinowski
- (16920) Larrywalker
- (18739) Larryhu
- (18873) Larryrobinson
- (20032) McNish
- (20337) Naeve
- (22621) Larrybartel
All asteroids named after someone called Larry
Also discovered on 28 February 1981
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- (2958) Arpetito
- (3287) Olmstead
- (3307) Athabasca
- (3602) Lazzaro
- (3805) Goldreich
- (4052) Crovisier
- (4192) Breysacher
- (4473) Sears
- (4523) MIT
- (4989) Joegoldstein
- (5046) Carletonmoore