(59970) Morate Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 4 September 1999 by LONEOS at Anderson Mesa.
David Morate (b. 1988) is a postdoctoral researcher at the Observatorio Nacional (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) researching the spectral characterization of the families of primitive asteroids in the inner asteroid belt.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 1, #2, 27), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Morate is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Morate is 2.67 au from the Sun and 2.83 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 59970 |
| Provisional designation | 1999 RZ246 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 3.92 km (#12,953 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0240 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 16.31 |
| Orbital period | 3.72 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.40 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 1.90 – 2.90 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.207 |
| Inclination | 2.30° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.894 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
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Also discovered on 4 September 1999
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