(7686) Wolfernst Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 24 September 1960 by van Houten, C. J., van Houten-Groeneveld, I., Gehrels, T. at Palomar.
Named in honor of Wolfgang Ernst (b. 1947), amateur astronomer who initiated the astrometric program at the Starkenburg Observatory in Heppenheim. Since 1995, the major part of his work has consisted of making follow-up observations of objects discovered in the course of the 1990-1993 KSO-ARI minor planet surveys at Tautenburg. Name proposed by L. D. Schmadel.Naming citation (19981208/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Wolfernst is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Wolfernst is 2.14 au from the Sun and 2.69 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 7686 |
| Provisional designation | 2024 P-L |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 4.42 km (#11,786 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.227 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 13.96 |
| Orbital period | 3.41 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.27 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.07 – 2.46 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0853 |
| Inclination | 4.70° |
| 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 Wolfgang
- (6659) Pietsch
- (7971) Meckbach
- (9700) Paech
- (13055) Kreppein
- (13093) Wolfgangpauli
- (14994) Uppenkamp
- (17458) Dick
- (17488) Mantl
- (21420) Steinicke
- (26661) Kempelen
- (29148) Palzer
- (30829) Wolfwacker
All asteroids named after someone called Wolfgang
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