(9496) Ockels Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 26 March 1971 by van Houten, C. J., van Houten-Groeneveld, I., Gehrels, T. at Palomar.
Wubbo J. Ockels (b. 1946) became the first Dutch astronaut in space during the Spacelab D-1 mission. After his flight aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1985 he continued working for the European Space Agency and became professor of aerospace at the Technical University of Delft. The name was suggested by W. A. Fröger.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 3, #13, 7), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Ockels is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Ockels is 3.07 au from the Sun and 3.90 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 9496 |
| Provisional designation | 4260 T-1 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 5.55 km (#9,646 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.209 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.59 |
| Orbital period | 4.98 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.91 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.76 – 3.07 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0542 |
| Inclination | 2.95° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.77 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
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