(152830) Dinkinesh Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 4 November 1999 by LINEAR at Socorro.
Dinkinesh is an Ethiopian appellation for the Australopithecus afarensis skeleton AL 288-1, also known as “Lucy”, that was discovered in 1974 at Hadar, in the Awash Valley of Ethiopia. The nickname means “you are marvelous”.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 3, #2, 14), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Dinkinesh is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Dinkinesh is 2.13 au from the Sun and 3.02 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 152830 |
| Provisional designation | 1999 VD57 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 0.719 km (#17,422 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Rotation period | 52.7 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 17.4 |
| Orbital period | 3.24 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.19 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 1.94 – 2.44 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.113 |
| Inclination | 2.09° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.962 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also discovered on 4 November 1999
- (13434) Adamquade
- (13435) Rohret
- (13825) Booth
- (16102) Barshannon
- (20686) Thottumkara
- (20687) Saletore
- (20688) Sandroricardo
- (20689) Zhuyuanchen
- (20690) Crivello
- (21924) Alyssaovaitt
- (21925) Supasternak
- (21926) Jacobperry