(17506) Walschap Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 4 April 1992 by E. W. Elst at La Silla.
Gerard Walschap (1898-1989) was a Flemish writer and poet, who became widely known for his novel Adelaide (1929). His novel Houtekiet (1939) is surely his most famous book. Due to his polemic nature and his emancipatory role in literature and society, his significance goes much further than purely literary.Naming citation (MPC batch dated 2015-01-05), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Walschap is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Walschap is 2.31 au from the Sun and 2.61 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 17506 |
| Provisional designation | 1992 GW4 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 2.37 km (#16,490 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.261 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.99 |
| Orbital period | 3.53 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.32 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.08 – 2.56 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.103 |
| Inclination | 7.23° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.07 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Gerard
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- (19999) Depardieu
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- (129176) Gerardcarter
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- (249520) Luppino
All asteroids named after someone called Gerard
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