(21821) Billryan Main-belt Asteroid

Discovered on 12 October 1999 by LONEOS at Anderson Mesa.

William H. Ryan (b. 1962) is an astrophysicist at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology's Magdalena Ridge Observatory. Ryan discovered that (3782) Celle has a companion, making it the first identified binary vestoid; and later, that vestoid (3703) Volkonskaya is also binary.Naming citation (20080718/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL

Where Billryan is today

MercuryVenusEarthEarthMarsMarsBillryanBillryan

Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Billryan is 2.94 au from the Sun and 3.82 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.

Facts

Number21821
Provisional designation1999 TN36
Orbit classMain-belt Asteroid
Absolute magnitude (H)14.84
Orbital period5.04 years
Semi-major axis2.94 au
Perihelion – aphelion2.67 – 3.21 au
Eccentricity0.0904
Inclination2.89°
Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID)1.69 au

Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.

Also named after someone called William

Also discovered on 12 October 1999

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