(9797) Raes Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 18 April 1996 by E. W. Elst at La Silla.
Named in honor of the Flemish writer Hugo Raes (b. 1929), well known from his novels and other writings. One of his most sublime novels is De verwoesting van Hyperion (The Destruction of Hyperion), a 1978 science-fiction account of the rise and fall of a super civilization.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 3, #15, 5), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Raes is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Raes is 3.33 au from the Sun and 2.38 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 9797 |
| Provisional designation | 1996 HR21 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 12.3 km (#3,976 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0620 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.43 |
| Orbital period | 5.66 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.18 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.66 – 3.69 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.162 |
| Inclination | 1.21° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.65 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Hugo
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- (21511) Chiardola
- (26849) De Paepe
- (215809) Hugoschwarz
All asteroids named after someone called Hugo
Also discovered on 18 April 1996
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