(15171) Xandertielens Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 24 September 1960 by van Houten, C. J., van Houten-Groeneveld, I., Gehrels, T. at Palomar.
Xander Tielens (b. 1953) is a Dutch astronomer in Leiden, who after his PhD went to the US to become Project Scientist for the airborne observatory, SOFIA. Back in the Netherlands he continues his work on dust and the chemistry of interstellar matter.Naming citation (20120831/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Xandertielens is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Xandertielens is 2.55 au from the Sun and 3.32 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 15171 |
| Provisional designation | 2772 P-L |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 2.12 km (#16,893 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.432 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 15.48 |
| Orbital period | 3.40 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.26 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 1.94 – 2.58 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.140 |
| Inclination | 2.53° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.929 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
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