| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | C. J. van Houten I. van Houten-G. T. Gehrels |
| Discovery site | Palomar Obs. |
| Discovery date | 24 September 1960 |
| Designations | |
| (10245) Inselsberg | |
Named after | Großer Inselsberg (German mountain) |
| 6071 P-L · 1995 DH2 | |
| main-belt[1][2] · (middle) Gefion[3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[2] | |
| Epoch 23 March 2018 (JD 2458200.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 63.75yr (23,284 d) |
| Aphelion | 3.0301AU |
| Perihelion | 2.5332 AU |
| 2.7816 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.0893 |
| 4.64 yr (1,695 d) | |
| 325.09° | |
| 0° 12m 45s / day | |
| Inclination | 8.9010° |
| 196.52° | |
| 341.87° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 6.9 km(est. at0.20)[4] | |
| 0.20(family estimate) | |
| 13.2[2] | |
10245 Inselsberg, provisional designation6071 P-L, is a Gefionasteroid from the central regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 7 kilometers (4 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 24 September 1960, byIngrid andCornelis van Houten at Leiden, andTom Gehrels atPalomar Observatory in California, United States. The likelyS-type asteroid was named for the German mountainGroßer Inselsberg.[1]
Inselsberg is a member of theGefion family (516),[3] a large intermediate beltfamily, named after1272 Gefion[5] It orbits the Sun in thecentral 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 aneccentricity of 0.09 and aninclination of 9° with respect to theecliptic.[2] The body'sobservation arc begins with aprecovery taken at Palomar Observatory in May 1954, or 6 years prior to its official discovery observation.[1]
Thesurvey designation "P-L" stands forPalomar–Leiden, named after Palomar Observatory andLeiden Observatory, which collaborated on the fruitfulPalomar–Leiden survey in the 1960s. Gehrels used Palomar'sSamuel Oschin telescope (also known as the 48-inch Schmidt Telescope), and shipped thephotographic plates to Ingrid and Cornelis van Houten at Leiden Observatory whereastrometry was carried out. The trio are credited with the discovery ofseveral thousand asteroid discoveries.[6]
As a member of the Gefion family,Inselsberg is likely a stonyS-type asteroid.[5]: 23 It has anabsolute magnitude of 13.2.[2] As of 2018, no rotationallightcurve ofInselsberg has been obtained fromphotometric observations. The body'srotation period,pole and shape remain unknown.[2]
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 theNEOWISE mission of NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer,Inselsberg measures kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo.[4]
Thisminor planet was named afterGroßer Inselsberg, a mountain with an altitude of 916.5 m (3,007 ft) located in theThuringian Forest in Thuringia, Germany.[1] The official naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 1 May 2003 (M.P.C. 48390).[7]
