(8661) Ratzinger Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 14 October 1990 by Schmadel, L. D., Borngen, F. at Tautenburg.
Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (b. 1927), German professor of theology, is one of the most authoritative voices in the Vatican. Under his supervision, the Vatican opened its archives in 1998 to enable researchers to investigate judicial errors against Galileo and other medieval scientists. The name was proposed by the first discoverer.Naming citation (20000523/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Ratzinger is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Ratzinger is 3.04 au from the Sun and 2.04 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 8661 |
| Provisional designation | 1990 TA13 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 13.4 km (#3,578 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0900 |
| Rotation period | 4.30 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 12.48 |
| Orbital period | 5.21 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.00 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.89 – 3.12 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0387 |
| Inclination | 10.6° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.93 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
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