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10245 Inselsberg, provisional designation 6071 P-L, is a Gefion asteroid from the central regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 7 kilometers (4 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 24 September 1960, by Ingrid and Cornelis van Houten at Leiden, and Tom Gehrels at Palomar Observatory in California, United States. The likely S-type asteroid was named for the German mountain Großer Inselsberg.

Orbit and classification

Inselsberg is a member of the Gefion family (516), a large intermediate belt family, named after 1272 Gefion It orbits the Sun in the central asteroid belt at a distance of 2.5–3.0 AU once every 4 years and 8 months (1,695 days; semi-major axis of 2.78 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.09 and an inclination of 9° with respect to the ecliptic. The body's observation arc begins with a precovery taken at Palomar Observatory in May 1954, or 6 years prior to its official discovery observation.

Palomar–Leiden survey

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.

Physical characteristics

As a member of the Gefion family, Inselsberg is likely a stony S-type asteroid. It has an absolute magnitude of 13.2. As of 2018, no rotational lightcurve of Inselsberg has been obtained from photometric observations. The body's rotation period, pole and shape remain unknown.

Diameter and albedo

Based on a generic magnitude-to-diameter conversion, Inselsberg measures 6.9 kilometers in diameter for an assumed stony albedo of 0.20, derived from the Gefion family's standard albedo, and a measured absolute magnitude of 13.2. According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Inselsberg measures kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo.

Naming

This minor planet was named after Großer Inselsberg, a mountain with an altitude of 916.5 m (3,007 ft) located in the Thuringian Forest in Thuringia, Germany. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 1 May 2003 (M.P.C. 48390).

References

1. ^ "10245 Inselsberg (6071 P-L)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
2. ^ "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 10245 Inselsberg (6071 P-L)" (2018-02-25 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
3. ^ "Asteroid 10245 Inselsberg – Nesvorny HCM Asteroid Families V3.0". Small Bodies Data Ferret. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
4. ^ "Asteroid Size Estimator". CNEOS NASA/JPL. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
5. ^ 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. "Minor Planet Discoverers". Minor Planet Center. 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
7. "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 30 April 2018.

External links

• Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB), query form (info Archived 16 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine)
• Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, Google books
• Asteroids and comets rotation curves, CdR – Observatoire de Genève, Raoul Behrend
• Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (10001)-(15000) – Minor Planet Center
• 10245 Inselsberg at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
  • Ephemeris · Observation prediction · Orbital info · Proper elements · Observational info
• 10245 Inselsberg at the JPL Small-Body Database
  • Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit viewer · Orbit parameters · Physical parameters

• Minor planet object articles (numbered)
• Gefion asteroids
• Discoveries by Cornelis Johannes van Houten
• Discoveries by Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld
• Discoveries by Tom Gehrels
• Discoveries by the Palomar–Leiden survey
• Named minor planets
• Astronomical objects discovered in 1960