(11876) Doncarpenter Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 2 March 1990 by E. W. Elst at La Silla.
For the past 42 years, Don Carpenter (b. 1938) has been associated with the Stanford research group devoted to passive and active whistler-mode probing of the earth's ionosphere and magnetosphere. In 1966 he discovered the plasmapause in the electron-density distribution of the magnetosphere.Naming citation (20010509/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Doncarpenter is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Doncarpenter is 2.47 au from the Sun and 2.01 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 11876 |
| Provisional designation | 1990 EM1 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.29 |
| Orbital period | 3.79 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.43 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.05 – 2.81 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.155 |
| Inclination | 5.41° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.05 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
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