10244 Thüringer Wald, provisional designation 4668 P-L, is a Vestian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 3.3 kilometers (2.1 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 26 September 1960, by Ingrid and Cornelis van Houten at Leiden, and Tom Gehrels at Palomar Observatory in California, United States. The asteroid was named after the Thuringian Forest, a German mountain range.[1]

10244 Thüringer Wald
Discovery[1]
Discovered byC. J. van Houten
I. van Houten-G.
Tom Gehrels
Discovery sitePalomar Obs.
Discovery date26 September 1960
Designations
(10244) Thüringer Wald
Named after
Thuringian Forest[1]
(German mountain range)
4668 P-L · 1990 TB14
main-belt[1][2] · (inner)
Vesta[3]
Orbital characteristics[2]
Epoch 23 March 2018 (JD 2458200.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc57.42 yr (20,973 d)
Aphelion2.6482 AU
Perihelion2.1598 AU
2.4040 AU
Eccentricity0.1016
3.73 yr (1,361 d)
109.85°
0° 15m 51.84s / day
Inclination7.4739°
28.159°
27.932°
Physical characteristics
3.346±0.207 km[4]
0.190±0.054[4]
14.6[2]

Orbit and classification

edit

Thüringer Wald is a member of the Vesta family (401).[3] Vestian asteroids have a composition akin to cumulate eucrites (HED meteorites) and are thought to have originated deep within 4 Vesta's crust, possibly from the Rheasilvia crater, a large impact crater on its southern hemisphere near the South pole, formed as a result of a subcatastrophic collision. Vesta is the main belt's second-largest and second-most-massive body after Ceres.[5][6]

Thüringer Wald orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 2.2–2.6 AU once every 3 years and 9 months (1,361 days; semi-major axis of 2.4 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.10 and an inclination of 7° with respect to the ecliptic.[2] Its observation arc begins with its official discovery observation at Palomar in September 1960.[1]

Physical characteristics

edit

The asteroid's spectral type is unknown.[2] Vestian asteroids typically have a V- or S-type,[5] with albedos higher than measured by the WISE telescope (see below). It has an absolute magnitude of 14.6. As of 2018, no rotational lightcurve of Thüringer Wald has been obtained from photometric observations. The body's rotation period, pole and shape remain unknown.[2]

Diameter and albedo

edit

According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's WISE telescope, Thüringer Wald measures 3.346 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.190.[4]

Palomar–Leiden survey

edit

The survey designation "P-L" stands for Palomar–Leiden, named after Palomar Observatory and Leiden Observatory, which collaborated on the fruitful Palomar–Leiden survey in the 1960s. Gehrels used Palomar's Samuel Oschin telescope (also known as the 48-inch Schmidt Telescope), and shipped the photographic plates to Ingrid and Cornelis van Houten at Leiden Observatory where astrometry was carried out. The trio are credited with the discovery of several thousand asteroid discoveries.[7]

Naming

edit

This minor planet was named after the Thuringian Forest (German: Thüringer Wald), a mountain range in central Germany.[1] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 1 May 2003 (M.P.C. 48390).[8]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d e f "10244 Thuringer Wald (4668 P-L)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 10244 Thuringer Wald (4668 P-L)" (2018-02-27 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Asteroid 10244 Thuringer Wald – Nesvorny HCM Asteroid Families V3.0". Small Bodies Data Ferret. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  4. ^ a b c Masiero, Joseph R.; Mainzer, A. K.; Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Dailey, J.; et al. (November 2011). "Main Belt Asteroids with WISE/NEOWISE. I. Preliminary Albedos and Diameters". The Astrophysical Journal. 741 (2): 20. arXiv:1109.4096. Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...68M. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/2/68.
  5. ^ a b Nesvorný, D.; Broz, M.; Carruba, V. (December 2014). "Identification and Dynamical Properties of Asteroid Families". Asteroids IV. pp. 297–321. arXiv:1502.01628. Bibcode:2015aste.book..297N. doi:10.2458/azu_uapress_9780816532131-ch016. ISBN 9780816532131.
  6. ^ Kelley, Michael S.; Vilas, Faith; Gaffey, Michael J.; Abell, Paul A. (September 2003). "Quantified mineralogical evidence for a common origin of 1929 Kollaa with 4 Vesta and the HED meteorites". Icarus. 165 (1): 215–218. Bibcode:2003Icar..165..215K. doi:10.1016/S0019-1035(03)00149-0.
  7. ^ "Minor Planet Discoverers". Minor Planet Center. 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  8. ^ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
edit