(12170) Vanvollenhoven Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 16 October 1977 by van Houten, C. J., van Houten-Groeneveld, I., Gehrels, T. at Palomar.
Pieter van Vollenhoven (b. 1939) is a professor of risk management at the Technical University of Twente. The Netherlands Ambassador of the International Year of Astronomy (2009), he has actively supported the popularization of astronomy and space science in the Netherlands for many years.Naming citation (20081212/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Vanvollenhoven is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Vanvollenhoven is 3.20 au from the Sun and 2.54 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 12170 |
| Provisional designation | 2372 T-3 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 7.71 km (#6,865 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0620 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.37 |
| Orbital period | 5.36 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.06 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.15 – 3.98 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.298 |
| Inclination | 2.99° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.14 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Pieter
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- (9071) Coudenberghe
- (9664) Brueghel
- (10655) Pietkeyser
- (10970) de Zeeuw
- (14019) Pourbus
- (15468) Mondriaan
- (20068) Peterbarthel
- (29212) Zeeman
- (52226) Saenredam
- (333514) Kallemeyn
All asteroids named after someone called Pieter
Also discovered on 16 October 1977
- (3798) de Jager
- (3936) Elst
- (4044) Erikhog
- (4108) Rakos
- (4722) Agelaos
- (4753) Phidias
- (4754) Panthoos
- (5610) Balster
- (5699) Munch
- (5700) Homerus
- (5984) Lysippus
- (6055) Brunelleschi