| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | F. Börngen |
| Discovery site | Karl Schwarzschild Obs. |
| Discovery date | 10 July 1994 |
| Designations | |
| (15811) Nüsslein-Volhard | |
Named after | Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard (biologist, Nobelist)[2] |
| 1994 ND1 · 1955 SX1 1988 PY2 · 1989 SG7 | |
| main-belt · (outer)[1] background | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 60.87 yr (22,232 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.7344AU |
| Perihelion | 2.6737 AU |
| 3.2041 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1655 |
| 5.74yr (2,095 days) | |
| 0.3974° | |
| 0° 10m 18.84s / day | |
| Inclination | 9.6131° |
| 225.54° | |
| 74.845° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 15.520±0.133[3] 16.17±1.4 km(IRAS:2)[1] |
| 0.0617±0.013(IRAS:2)[1] 0.067±0.007[3] | |
| 12.8[1] | |
15811 Nüsslein-Volhard, provisional designation1994 ND1, is a dark backgroundasteroid from the outer region of theasteroid belt, approximately 16 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 10 July 1994, by German astronomerFreimut Börngen at theKarl Schwarzschild Observatory in Tautenburg, Germany.[4] It was named for NobelistChristiane Nüsslein-Volhard.[2]
Nüsslein-Volhard orbits the Sun in theouter main-belt at a distance of 2.7–3.7 AU once every 5 years and 9 months (2,095 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.17 and aninclination of 10° with respect to theecliptic.[1]
The asteroid'sobservation arc begins 39 years prior to its official discovery observation, with its first identification as1955 SX1 at theGoethe Link Observatory in September 1955.[4]
According to the observations made by the Infrared Astronomical SatelliteIRAS and NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequentNEOWISE mission,Nüsslein-Volhard measures 15.2 and 16.2 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has analbedo of 0.062 and 0.067, respectively.[1][3] A low albedo of 0.06 is typical forcarbonaceous asteroids.
As of 2017,Nüsslein-Volhard's actual composition,rotation period and shape remain unknown.[1][5]
Thisminor planet was named afterChristiane Nüsslein-Volhard (born 1942), a German biologist who, together with Eric Wieschaus and Edward Lewis, won theNobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1995. Her research identified the genes controlling theembryonic development for the fruit flyDrosophila melanogaster.[2] The approved naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 26 May 2002 (M.P.C. 45748).[6]
