(12761) Pauwels Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 9 October 1993 by E. W. Elst at La Silla.
Thierry Pauwels (b. 1958) is an astrometrist at the Royal Observatory at Uccle. He became interested in the study of minor planets and successfully restored the Uccle Schmidt (85/120/2.20), extending its limiting magnitude by installing a CCD camera in 1996. Several discoveries have now been attributed to him.Naming citation (20030318/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Pauwels is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Pauwels is 3.28 au from the Sun and 2.38 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 12761 |
| Provisional designation | 1993 TP38 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.71 |
| Orbital period | 5.46 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.10 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.91 – 3.29 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0600 |
| Inclination | 18.5° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.92 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Thierry
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- (13396) Midavaine
- (19458) Legault
- (69949) Thierrydemange
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- (211473) Herin
All asteroids named after someone called Thierry
Also discovered on 9 October 1993
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- (9385) Avignon
- (10358) Kirchhoff
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