The citation announcing the naming appeared on Minor Planet Circular 55989 (issued on 2006 Feb. 19), from which the following is extracted with permission:
(110393) Rammstein = 2001 TC8 Discovered 2001 Oct. 11 by J.-C. Merlin at Le Creusot. The German hard rock-metal group Rammstein was established in the former East Germany in 1994. It took its name from the city of Ramstein after the tragic 1988 air show disaster. The group gives spectacular live shows all over the world.Read about how minor planets are named.
The next perihelion passage will occur on 2011 Feb. 13.2 UT.
The orbit is inclined by 12.1 degrees to the ecliptic plane (the plane of the earth's orbit about the sun).
There is little information on the physical properties of (110393) Rammstein. Even its diameter is uncertain--a range of 3 to 6 km is probable.
You will need a telescope to see this minor planet as its maximum brightness is some 1/49058 of the brightness of the faintest objects that can be seen with the unaided eye.
The diagram below show the orbit of (110393) Rammstein in relation to the major planets in the inner solar system.
This view of the inner solar system is seen from the north ecliptic pole. The sun is the yellow star at the center of the image. The blue orbits represent, in increasing distance from the center, the major planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars and Jupiter. The position of each major planet at the date indicated at the bottom of the plot is shown by the large circled cross. The orbit of the minor planet is shown in red, with the location of the minor planet (at the date indicated at the bottom of the plot) shown as a white circled cross. From this vantage point the planets revolve around the sun in a counter clockwise direction. The vernal equinox is off to the right. The portion of the minor planet's orbit that is below the plane of the earth's orbit is shaded grey. The perihelion point of the minor planet's orbit is at the end of the white straight line through the sun indicated by "P".
Also available is information on provisional designations.
Where is (110393) Rammstein tonight? Customisable ephemerides are available.
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