(21965) Dones Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 13 November 1999 by LONEOS at Anderson Mesa.
Henry C. “Luke” Dones (b. 1958) works on solar system dynamics at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder. He has made important contributions to the understanding of Saturn's rings, the dynamics of centaurs and comets, and the late heavy bombardment of the moon.Naming citation (20080718/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Dones is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Dones is 3.19 au from the Sun and 3.95 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 21965 |
| Provisional designation | 1999 VO213 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 5.36 km (#9,952 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.117 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.49 |
| Orbital period | 5.10 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.96 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.69 – 3.23 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0912 |
| Inclination | 10.3° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.71 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also discovered on 13 November 1999
- (13423) Bobwoolley
- (17184) Carlrogers
- (18873) Larryrobinson
- (21945) Kleshchonok
- (21964) Kevinhousen
- (23006) Pazden
- (60186) Las Cruces
- (66856) Stephenvoss
- (91907) Shiho
- (102621) Goshinosato
- (121609) Josephnicholas
- (121615) Marknoteware