(20603) Rafaelribeiro Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 8 September 1999 by LINEAR at Socorro.
Rafael Ribeiro (b. 1990) is a Brazilian Assistant Professor at São Paulo State University. He has made contributions to dynamical astronomy on topics including the dynamical evidence for an early giant planet instability, the dynamical origin of the dwarf planet Ceres, and the theory of surface-mass ablation showing that asteroids were born bigger.Naming citation (WGSBN Bull. 6, #11, 30), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Rafaelribeiro is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Rafaelribeiro is 3.18 au from the Sun and 3.12 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 20603 |
| Provisional designation | 1999 RT199 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 7.55 km (#7,053 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.113 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.0 |
| Orbital period | 5.58 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.15 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.99 – 3.30 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0494 |
| Inclination | 11.6° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 2.01 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Rafael
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- (128036) Rafaelnadal
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All asteroids named after someone called Rafael
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