(10648) Plancius Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 24 September 1960 by van Houten, C. J., van Houten-Groeneveld, I., Gehrels, T. at Palomar.
Petrus Plancius (Pieter Platevoet, 1552-1622) was a Dutch theologian, astronomer, navigator and appointed cartographer to the new Dutch East India Company. Plancius depicted the 12 new southern constellations on a globe he constructed in 1598.Naming citation (20020921/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Plancius is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Plancius is 3.02 au from the Sun and 3.91 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 10648 |
| Provisional designation | 4089 P-L |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.14 |
| Orbital period | 4.50 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.72 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.23 – 3.22 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.181 |
| Inclination | 8.63° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.23 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Petrus
All asteroids named after someone called Petrus
Also discovered on 24 September 1960
- (1743) Schmidt
- (1744) Harriet
- (1776) Kuiper
- (1777) Gehrels
- (1795) Woltjer
- (1808) Bellerophon
- (1809) Prometheus
- (1810) Epimetheus
- (1811) Bruwer
- (1812) Gilgamesh
- (1846) Bengt
- (1868) Thersites
More named asteroids discovered by van Houten, C. J., van Houten-Groeneveld, I., Gehrels, T.
- (1743) Schmidt
- (1744) Harriet
- (1776) Kuiper
- (1777) Gehrels
- (1778) Alfven
- (1795) Woltjer
- (1808) Bellerophon
- (1809) Prometheus
- (1810) Epimetheus
- (1811) Bruwer
- (1812) Gilgamesh
- (1813) Imhotep
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