(60186) Las Cruces Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 13 November 1999 by Dixon, D. S., Stevens, J. at Las Cruces.
Las Cruces was founded in 1848 at a site along the Rio Grande river and has grown from a small settlement of about 120 persons to a city that is home to agriculture, industry and New Mexico State University. The clear, dry climate and elevation has attracted a number of astronomical observatories to the area.Naming citation (20031110/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Las Cruces is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Las Cruces is 3.67 au from the Sun and 3.53 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 60186 |
| Provisional designation | 1999 VH22 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 13.5 km (#3,550 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0610 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 12.98 |
| Orbital period | 5.67 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.18 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.63 – 3.73 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.174 |
| Inclination | 14.8° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.68 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.