(52309) Philnicolai Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 7 October 1991 by F. Borngen at Tautenburg.
Philipp Nicolai (1556-1608) is the creator of both the words and melodies of the hymns How brightly beams the morning star! and Wake, awake! for night is flying. J. S. Bach took them as a basis for two of his cantatas.Naming citation (20030806/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Philnicolai is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Philnicolai is 2.76 au from the Sun and 3.74 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 52309 |
| Provisional designation | 1991 TQ7 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 13.4 km (#3,586 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0550 |
| Rotation period | 4.64 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.47 |
| Orbital period | 4.65 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.79 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.68 – 2.90 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0403 |
| Inclination | 18.2° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.73 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Philipp
All asteroids named after someone called Philipp
Also discovered on 7 October 1991
- (10786) Robertmayer
- (12306) Pebronstein
- (19182) Pitz
- (26119) Duden
- (30850) Vonsiemens
- (43813) Kuhner
- (48471) Orchiston
- (52308) Hanspeterroser
- (85195) von Helfta