(9973) Szpilman Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 12 July 1993 by E. W. Elst at La Silla.
Wladyslaw Szpilman (1912–2000) was a Polish pianist who managed to survive in the Warsaw ghetto. In his memoirs Robinson Warszawski he told how he played the last live music on Polish free radio—Chopin's Nocturne in C#—before the German artillery destroyed the transmitter.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 3, #13, 9), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Szpilman is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Szpilman is 2.10 au from the Sun and 1.26 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 9973 |
| Provisional designation | 1993 NB2 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.42 |
| Orbital period | 4.03 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.53 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.10 – 2.96 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.171 |
| Inclination | 1.49° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.11 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also discovered on 12 July 1993
More named asteroids discovered by E. W. Elst
- (3631) Sigyn
- (3784) Chopin
- (3870) Mayre
- (3903) Kliment Ohridski
- (3910) Liszt
- (3912) Troja
- (3918) Brel
- (4038) Kristina
- (4226) Damiaan
- (4342) Freud
- (4344) Buxtehude
- (4345) Rachmaninoff
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