(12650) de Vries Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 16 October 1977 by van Houten, C. J., van Houten-Groeneveld, I., Gehrels, T. at Palomar.
Martien de Vries (b. 1932) is a Dutch astronomer who was part of a small group who developed the first Dutch 1-m telescope on La Silla. His main area of focus was the development and adjustment of the photometer, which he himself used for infrared star measurements.Naming citation (MPC batch dated 2017-11-04), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where de Vries is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: de Vries is 2.44 au from the Sun and 3.22 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 12650 |
| Provisional designation | 2247 T-3 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 5.35 km (#9,966 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0810 |
| Rotation period | 5.36 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 15.1 |
| Orbital period | 3.63 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.36 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 1.86 – 2.86 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.211 |
| Inclination | 4.11° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.851 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also discovered on 16 October 1977
- (3798) de Jager
- (3936) Elst
- (4044) Erikhog
- (4108) Rakos
- (4722) Agelaos
- (4753) Phidias
- (4754) Panthoos
- (5610) Balster
- (5699) Munch
- (5700) Homerus
- (5984) Lysippus
- (6055) Brunelleschi