(21657) Alinecarter Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 10 August 1999 by J. Broughton at Reedy Creek.
Aline Badger Carter (1892–1972), poet laureate of Texas and human rights activist, taught astronomy courses for years at the Witte Museum in San Antonio, Texas. She inspired hundreds of students and allowed them to view the sky from her rooftop observatory that she established in 1918, and which remains as a learning center today.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 3, #1, 12), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Alinecarter is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Alinecarter is 2.40 au from the Sun and 2.83 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 21657 |
| Provisional designation | 1999 PZ1 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 15.07 |
| Orbital period | 3.48 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.30 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.17 – 2.42 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0526 |
| Inclination | 7.29° |
| 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 named after someone called Aline
All asteroids named after someone called Aline