(18520) Wolfratshausen Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 6 November 1996 by N. Sato at Chichibu.
Wolfratshausen, a city in southern Bavaria, has a long history extending back to the original name found in court papers by Holy Roman Emperor Heinrich II in 1003. Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926) stayed in the city with Lou Andreas-Salome (1861-1937) in 1897.Naming citation (20100726/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Wolfratshausen is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Wolfratshausen is 3.11 au from the Sun and 2.19 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 18520 |
| Provisional designation | 1996 VK4 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 5.10 km (#10,439 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0750 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 15.19 |
| Orbital period | 4.38 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.68 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.18 – 3.18 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.187 |
| Inclination | 3.58° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.19 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also discovered on 6 November 1996
- (7616) Sadako
- (8574) Makotoirie
- (9099) Kenjitanabe
- (10880) Kaguya
- (17656) Hayabusa
- (17657) Himawari
- (18524) Tagatoshihiro
- (19313) Shibatakazunari
- (22454) Rosalylopes
- (27917) Edoardo
- (27918) Azusagawa