(32893) van der Waals Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 9 March 1994 by E. W. Elst at Caussols.
Johannes Diderik van der Waals (1837-1923), a Dutch physicist and thermodynamicist at Leiden University, is known for his equation of state for the merging of liquid and gas phases of the same substance in a continuous manner. In 1910 he received the Nobel prize for physics.Naming citation (20080618/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where van der Waals is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: van der Waals is 2.94 au from the Sun and 3.91 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 32893 |
| Provisional designation | 1994 EM6 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 6.98 km (#7,673 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.173 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.58 |
| Orbital period | 4.60 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.76 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.44 – 3.09 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.117 |
| Inclination | 17.8° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.52 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Johannes
- (5703) Hevelius
- (7343) Ockeghem
- (10506) Rydberg
- (11245) Hansderijk
- (11681) Ortner
- (12134) Hansfriedeman
- (12617) Angelusilesius
- (13332) Benkhoff
- (14541) Sacrobosco
- (15955) Johannesgmunden
- (18032) Geiss
- (26355) Grueber
All asteroids named after someone called Johannes
Also discovered on 9 March 1994
- (8886) Elaeagnus
- (9389) Condillac
- (10838) Lebon
- (11958) Galiani
- (15804) Yenisei
- (20082) Yannlecun
- (23549) Epicles