| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | E. W. Elst |
| Discovery site | La Silla Obs. |
| Discovery date | 18 November 1990 |
| Designations | |
| (15268) Wendelinefroger | |
Named after | Wendeline Froger (Belgian singer)[2] |
| 1990 WF3 · 1979 WA7 1986 PO5 · 1999 CD133 | |
| main-belt · (inner)[3] Nysa | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 37.29 yr (13,619 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.9209AU |
| Perihelion | 1.8107 AU |
| 2.3658 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.2346 |
| 3.64yr (1,329 days) | |
| 171.04° | |
| 0° 16m 15.24s / day | |
| Inclination | 2.7540° |
| 144.06° | |
| 210.29° | |
| Knownsatellites | 1[4][a] |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 3.41 km(calculated)[3] |
| 2.4224±0.0001h[5] | |
| 0.20(assumed)[3] | |
| S[3] | |
| 14.7[1][3] · 14.82±0.04[6] | |
15268 Wendelinefroger (provisional designation1990 WF3) is a stony, spheroidal, andbinary[a] Nysianasteroid from the inner regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 3.4 kilometers in diameter.
It was discovered on 18 November 1990, by Belgian astronomerEric Elst atESO'sLa Silla Observatory in northern Chile, and named after Belgian singerWendeline Froger.[2][7]
TheS-type asteroid orbits the Sun in theinner main belt at a distance of 1.8–2.9 astronomical units (AU) once every 3 years and 8 months (1,329 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.23 and aninclination of 3° with respect to theecliptic.[1] It was first identified as1979 WA7 atCrimea–Nauchnij in 1979, extending the asteroid'sobservation arc by 11 years prior to its discovery.[7]
In October 2008, a rotationallightcurve was obtained from photometric observations at the Leura Observatory (E17), Australia. It gave arotation period of 2.422 hours with a low brightness variation of 0.07magnitude, which indicates that the asteroid is of nearlyspheroidal shape (U=3).[5] TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL) assumes a standardalbedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 3.4 kilometer with anabsolute magnitude of 14.7.[3]
During the photometric observations in 2008, aminor-planet moon was also discovered,orbiting Wendelinefroger every25.07±0.02 hours at a distance of 8.7 kilometers.[4][5] Based on mutualoccultations of Wendelinefroger and its moon, the diameter ratio for the two bodies is at least 0.24 (i.e. secondary-to-primarymean diameter ratio),[a] which translates into an estimated diameter of 0.8 kilometer or more for the asteroid's moon, using CALL's calculated diameter for the primary.
Thisminor planet is named in honour of Belgian female singer Wendeline Froger (born 1948), who has a soprano voice and performs at church celebrations, weddings and for selected audiences at her residence. She has a preference to singLieder byRobert Schumann, after whom the minor planet4003 Schumann is named.[2] The approved naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 12 December 2008 (M.P.C. 64563).[8]
