(52266) Van Flandern Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 10 January 1986 by Shoemaker, C. S., Shoemaker, E. M. at Palomar.
Tom Van Flandern (1940-2009) predicted and comprehensively analyzed lunar occultations at the U.S. Naval Observatory in the 1970s. In 1979 he published pioneering papers on the dynamics of binary minor planets. He helped improve GPS accuracies and established Meta Research to support alternative cosmological ideas.Naming citation (20090209/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Van Flandern is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Van Flandern is 2.63 au from the Sun and 2.54 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 52266 |
| Provisional designation | 1986 AD |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 3.49 km (#13,991 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.249 |
| Rotation period | 9.89 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.04 |
| Orbital period | 3.57 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.34 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 1.82 – 2.85 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.219 |
| Inclination | 23.7° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.895 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
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