(16563) Ob Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 30 January 1992 by E. W. Elst at La Silla.
The 3700-km-long Ob river has its source in the Altai mountains of central Asia. After passing Novosibirsk and the swampy forests of the Tomks region, the Ob joins the Irtish. In Apr. 1740, on his way to observe a transit of Mercury, Joseph-Nicolas Delisle traveled on the frozen Ob with horses and sledges.Naming citation (20060613/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Ob is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Ob is 3.27 au from the Sun and 4.20 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 16563 |
| Provisional designation | 1992 BF2 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 15.5 km (#3,010 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0560 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 12.81 |
| Orbital period | 5.54 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.13 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.84 – 3.42 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0929 |
| Inclination | 12.5° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.87 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also discovered on 30 January 1992
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- (7187) Isobe
- (7947) Toland
- (10101) Fourier
- (13975) Beatrixpotter
- (15752) Eluard
- (16564) Coriolis
- (20024) Mayremartinez
- (21087) Petsimpallas
- (21088) Chelyabinsk
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