(8154) Stahl Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 15 February 1988 by E. W. Elst at La Silla.
Named in memory of the German physician and chemist Georg Ernst Stahl (1660-1734), who developed the phlogiston theory of combustion, which dominated chemical thought for almost a century. Contrary to the view of his friend Friedrich Hoffmann at the University of Halle, who considered living organisms as machines to be explained by the laws of mechanics, Stahl insisted that neither mechanical nor chemical laws alone were sufficient to account for the phenomenon of life. Most likely influenced by his pietism, he insisted that life required a force for which he reserved the Latin word anima, which in turn gave rise to the theory of animism (vitalism).Naming citation (19990402/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Stahl is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Stahl is 2.19 au from the Sun and 2.83 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 8154 |
| Provisional designation | 1988 CQ7 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 2.78 km (#15,691 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.274 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 15.07 |
| Orbital period | 3.51 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.31 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 1.98 – 2.63 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.140 |
| Inclination | 1.56° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.978 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.