(20798) Verlinden Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 27 September 2000 by LINEAR at Socorro.
Christopher Verlinden (b. 1986) was awarded first place and Best in Category in the 2004 Intel ISE Fair for his engineering team project. He also received the Achievement Award and the EU Contest for Young Scientists Award. He attends the School of Science and Technology, Beaverton, Oregon, U.S.A.Naming citation (20041226/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Verlinden is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Verlinden is 2.61 au from the Sun and 3.44 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 20798 |
| Provisional designation | 2000 SH172 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 2.92 km (#15,402 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.394 |
| Rotation period | 8.99 hours |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.69 |
| Orbital period | 3.58 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.34 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.02 – 2.66 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.135 |
| Inclination | 7.44° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.02 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
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