(9872) Solf Main-belt Asteroid

Discovered on 27 February 1992 by F. Borngen at Tautenburg.

Named in honor of Josef K. M. Solf (b. 1934), professor of astronomy at Heidelberg and Jena, and since 1994 director of the Thüringer Landessternwarte Tautenburg. During 1969-1994 he served as staff member of the Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie at Heidelberg and its Calar Alto Observatory. He is primarily interested in instrumentation for large optical telescopes. A pioneer in using high-resolution long-slit spectroscopic techniques, Solf made important contributions to the study of collimated mass outflows from both young and evolved stars, such as jets from pre-main sequence stars, Herbig-Haro objects, protoplanetary nebulae, nova shells and jets from symbiotic stars and central stars of planetary nebulae.Naming citation (19990402/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL

Where Solf is today

Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Solf is 2.41 au from the Sun and 1.72 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.

Facts

Number	9872
Provisional designation	1992 DJ4
Orbit class	Main-belt Asteroid
Diameter	2.99 km (#15,240 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size)
Albedo	0.497
Rotation period	11.6 hours
Absolute magnitude (H)	14.37
Orbital period	3.65 years
Semi-major axis	2.37 au
Perihelion – aphelion	2.16 – 2.58 au
Eccentricity	0.0877
Inclination	6.58°
Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID)	1.16 au

Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.

Also named after someone called Josef

All asteroids named after someone called Josef

Also discovered on 27 February 1992

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All 302

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