| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | E. W. Elst |
| Discovery site | CERGA Obs. |
| Discovery date | 20 February 1993 |
| Designations | |
| (7346) Boulanger | |
Named after | Nicolas Boulanger (French naturalist) |
| 1993 DQ2 · 1981 UC16 1986 TK5 · 1986 TX10 1990 RN18 | |
| main-belt[1][2] · (outer) Koronis[3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[2] | |
| Epoch 23 March 2018 (JD 2458200.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 63.01yr (23,016 d) |
| Aphelion | 3.1060AU |
| Perihelion | 2.6453 AU |
| 2.8757 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.0801 |
| 4.88 yr (1,781 d) | |
| 169.09° | |
| 0° 12m 7.56s / day | |
| Inclination | 3.1808° |
| 119.00° | |
| 254.01° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 7.378±0.081 km[4] | |
| 0.270±0.066[4] | |
| S(SDSS-MOC)[5] | |
| 12.8[1][2] | |
7346 Boulanger, provisional designation1993 DQ2, is a Koronianasteroid from the outer regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 7.4 kilometers (4.6 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 20 February 1993, by Belgian astronomerEric Elst at theCERGA Observatory in Caussols, southeastern France. It was named after French Enlightenment philosopherNicolas Boulanger.[1]
Boulanger is a member of theKoronis family (605),[3] a very large outerasteroid family with nearly co-planar ecliptical orbits.[6] It orbits the Sun in theouter main-belt at a distance of 2.6–3.1 AU once every 4 years and 11 months (1,781 days;semi-major axis of 2.88 AU). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.08 and aninclination of 3° with respect to theecliptic.[2]
The body'sobservation arc begins with aprecovery taken atPalomar Observatory in April 1955, nearly 38 years prior to its official discovery observation at Caussols.[1]
In theSDSS-based taxonomy,Boulanger is a common, stonyS-type asteroid,[5] which agrees with the overallspectral type for Koronian asteroids.[6]: 23 It has anabsolute magnitude of 12.8.[1][2] As of 2018, no rotationallightcurve ofBoulanger has been obtained fromphotometric observations. The body'srotation period,pole and shape remain unknown.[2]
According to the survey carried out by theNEOWISE mission of NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer,Boulanger measures 7.378 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo of 0.270.[4]
Thisminor planet was named afterEnlightenment philosopher and geologistNicolas Antoine Boulanger (1722–1759).[1] The official naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 24 June 2002 (M.P.C. 46008).[7]
