Named in honor of Nikolaj Vladimirovich Emel’yanov (1946– ), head of the Celestial Mechanics Department of the Sternberg Astronomical Institute in Moscow. He constructed a practical analytical theory for artificial-satellite motion based on non-keplerian intermediate orbits. He has derived precise values for the orbital parameters of Phobos and Deimos and the dynamical parameters of Mars. He also developed ephemeris software for the majority of natural satellites. (M 30475) _ _.
Discovered on 12-9-1978 in Nauchnyj by Chernykh, N. S.