(12956) Ralphwijers Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 29 September 1973 by van Houten, C. J., van Houten-Groeneveld, I., Gehrels, T. at Palomar.
Ralph Wijers (b. 1964) is a Dutch high-energy astrophysicist at the University of Amsterdam. He studies energetic explosions from extreme objects. Ralph chairs the arXiv Editorial Advisory Council.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 5, #20, 5), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Ralphwijers is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Ralphwijers is 2.59 au from the Sun and 3.57 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 12956 |
| Provisional designation | 2232 T-2 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 15.06 |
| Orbital period | 3.66 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.37 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.15 – 2.60 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0946 |
| Inclination | 3.90° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.14 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Ralph
- (9003) Ralphmilliken
- (9850) Ralphcopeland
- (9881) Sampson
- (9902) Kirkpatrick
- (10491) Chou
- (11377) Nye
- (13852) Ford
- (33594) Ralphlawton
- (50427) Ralphmerrifield
- (172191) Ralphmcnutt
All asteroids named after someone called Ralph
Also discovered on 29 September 1973
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- (4549) Burkhardt
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- (4876) Strabo
- (4978) Seitz
- (5151) Weerstra
- (5197) Rottmann
- (5243) Clasien
- (5244) Amphilochos
- (5266) Rauch