(11970) Palitzsch Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 4 October 1994 by Sicoli, P., Ghezzi, P. at Sormano.
Johann Georg Palitzsch (1723-1788) was a farmer by profession and an astronomer by vocation. He recovered comet 1P/Halley on its first predicted return in 1758 and observed further comets, as well as variable stars such as Mira and Algol. The citation was prepared by P. Brosche.Naming citation (20020328/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Palitzsch is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Palitzsch is 2.94 au from the Sun and 2.06 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 11970 |
| Provisional designation | 1994 TD |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 9.40 km (#5,479 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0550 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.23 |
| Orbital period | 5.29 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.04 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.91 – 3.16 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0408 |
| Inclination | 4.18° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.93 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Johann
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- (5195) Kaendler
- (6734) Benzenberg
- (7449) Dollen
- (8158) Herder
- (8203) Jogolehmann
- (8368) Lamont
- (8583) Froberger
- (9052) Uhland
- (9134) Encke
- (10749) Musaus
- (11673) Baur
All asteroids named after someone called Johann