(21065) Jamesmelka Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 10 July 1991 by E. F. Helin at Palomar.
James Melka (b. 1942) is an amateur astronomer who has observed and imaged Mars during nine apparitions from 1971 through 2012. He recorded the initial clouds of the 1971 and 2007 planet-wide dust storms and used Mars Global Surveyor images to identify three craters containing massive black sand dunes.Naming citation (MPC batch dated 2013-08-21), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Jamesmelka is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Jamesmelka is 3.62 au from the Sun and 2.95 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 21065 |
| Provisional designation | 1991 NM |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 15.5 km (#3,027 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.107 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 12.81 |
| Orbital period | 5.56 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.14 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.49 – 3.79 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.207 |
| Inclination | 16.6° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.48 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
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