In 2009, asteroid 52266 was named in honor of Van Flandern because of his prediction and analysis of lunar occultations at the U.S. Naval Observatory and publications of papers on the dynamics of binary minor planets.
In 2009, asteroid 52266 was named in honor of Van Flandern because he 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.