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Discovery and designation
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|
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Lincoln Laboratory Near-Earth Asteroid Research Team |
| Discovery site | Socorro |
| Discovery date | September 7, 1999 |
|
Designations
|
|
| MPC designation | 20540 |
| Alternate name(s) | 1999 RV86 |
| Epoch May 14, 2008 | |
| Ap | 2.9246662 |
| Peri | 2.5719764 |
| Eccentricity | 0.0641646 |
| Orbital period | 4.56 years |
| Mean anomaly | 348.47358 |
| Inclination | 5.59737 |
| Longitude of ascending node | 24.12666 |
| Argument of peri | 304.97273 |
| Dimensions | 3-8 km diameter |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.4 |
20540 Marhalpern (1999 RV86) is a main-belt asteroid discovered on September 7, 1999 by the Lincoln Laboratory Near-Earth Asteroid Research Team at Socorro. The asteroid was named for Marcia Halpern, a Science teacher at Muirlands Middle School in La Jolla, California, in recognition of her mentoring the winner of the 2004 Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge. Shannon McClintock, the winner of the Young Scientist Challenge, has an asteroid named for her as well (McClintock).