(15949) Rhaeticus Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 17 January 1998 by Meyer, E., Obermair, E. at Linz.
Rhaeticus (Georg Joachim Lauchen, 1514-1574) was a humanist, physician, mathematician and astronomer at the universities of Vienna, Leipzig and Wittenberg. He summarized and popularized the work of his teacher Copernicus, initiating the first printing of De Revolutionibus.Naming citation (20010309/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Rhaeticus is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Rhaeticus is 2.28 au from the Sun and 3.27 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 15949 |
| Provisional designation | 1998 BQ |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 3.58 km (#13,762 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.347 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.24 |
| Orbital period | 3.45 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.28 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 1.96 – 2.61 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.140 |
| Inclination | 7.41° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.980 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
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