(11427) Willemkolff Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 24 September 1960 by van Houten, C. J., van Houten-Groeneveld, I., Gehrels, T. at Palomar.
Born in Leiden, Willem Johan Kolff (b. 1911) invented the first kidney dialysis machine while working in harsh conditions in Kampen during World War II. After the war he moved to the U.S. and in 1967 became professor of surgery at the University of Utah, working with his student Robert Jarvik on an artificial heart.Naming citation (20070926/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Willemkolff is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Willemkolff is 2.98 au from the Sun and 3.75 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 11427 |
| Provisional designation | 2611 P-L |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 11.5 km (#4,292 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.100 |
| Rotation period | 17.8 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.14 |
| Orbital period | 5.61 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.16 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.84 – 3.48 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.101 |
| Inclination | 5.48° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.83 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Willem
- (1964) Luyten
- (9686) Keesom
- (10436) Janwillempel
- (10652) Blaeu
- (10654) Bontekoe
- (10964) Degraaff
- (10984) Gispen
- (11240) Piso
- (12132) Wimfroger
- (12162) Bilderdijk
- (12175) Wimhermans
- (13045) Vermandere
All asteroids named after someone called Willem
Also discovered on 24 September 1960
- (1743) Schmidt
- (1744) Harriet
- (1776) Kuiper
- (1777) Gehrels
- (1795) Woltjer
- (1808) Bellerophon
- (1809) Prometheus
- (1810) Epimetheus
- (1811) Bruwer
- (1812) Gilgamesh
- (1846) Bengt
- (1868) Thersites