15268 Wendelinefroger – Wikipedia

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15268 Wendelinefroger, provisional designation 1990 WF3, is a stony, spheroidal, and binary[a] Nysian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 3.4 kilometers in diameter.

It was discovered on 18 November 1990, by Belgian astronomer Eric Elst at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in northern Chile, and named after Belgian singer Wendeline Froger.[2][7]

The S-type asteroid orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.8–2.9 AU once every 3 years and 8 months (1,329 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.23 and an inclination of 3° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] It was first identified as 1979 WA7 at Crimea–Nauchnij in 1979, extending the asteroid’s observation arc by 11 years prior to its discovery.[7]

Physical characteristics[edit]

Primary[edit]

In October 2008, a rotational lightcurve was obtained from photometric observations at the Leura Observatory (E17), Australia. It gave a rotation period of 2.422 hours with a low brightness variation of 0.07 magnitude, which indicates that the asteroid is of nearly spheroidal shape (U=3).[5] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL) assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 3.4 kilometer with an absolute magnitude of 14.7.[3]

Secondary[edit]

During the photometric observations in 2008, a minor-planet moon was also discovered, orbiting Wendelinefroger every 25.07±0.02 hours at a distance of 8.7 kilometers.[4][5] Based on mutual occultations of Wendelinefroger and its moon, the diameter ratio for the two bodies is at least 0.24 (i.e. secondary-to-primary mean-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.

This minor planet is named in honour of Belgian female singer Wendeline Froger (b. 1948), who has a soprano voice and performs at church celebrations, weddings and for selected audiences at her residence. She has a preference to sing Lieder by Robert Schumann, after whom the minor planet 4003 Schumann is named.[2] The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 12 December 2008 (M.P.C. 64563).[8]

  1. ^ a b c Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams – No.1542, 20 October 2008
    Photometric observations obtained between 24 September and 9 October 2008, showed that 15268 Wendelinefroger is a binary system with an orbital period of 25.07±0.02 hours. The primary has a rotation period of 2.4224±0.0001 hours, with a lightcurve brightness variation of 0.07 magnitude, indicating a nearly spheroidal shape. Mutual eclipse/occultation events give a lower limit on the Ds/Dp of 0.27 (i.e. a secondary-to-primary mean-diameter ratio).
    Reported by – J. Oey, Leura Observatory, N.S.W., Australia; P. Pravec, P. Kusnirak, and K. Hornoch, Ondrejov Observatory; R. Stephens, Goat Mountain Astronomical Research Station, Yucca Valley, CA, U.S.A.; S. Gajdos and L. Kornos, Modra Observatory; and V. Chiorny, Institute of Astronomy, Kharkiv National University, Electronic Telegram No. 1542

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d “JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 15268 Wendelinefroger (1990 WF3)” (2017-03-01 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  2. ^ a b c Schmadel, Lutz D. (2009). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, Addendum to Fifth Edition: 2003–2005 – (15268) Wendelinefroger. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 69. ISBN 978-3-642-01964-7.
  3. ^ a b c d e f “LCDB Data for (15268) Wendelinefroger”. Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  4. ^ a b Johnston, Robert. “(15268) Wendelinefroger”. johnstonsarchive.net. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  5. ^ a b c Oey, J.; Pravec, P.; Kusnirak, P.; Hornoch, K.; Stephens, R.; Gajdos, S.; et al. (October 2008). “(15268) 1990 WF3”. Central Bureau Electronic Telegrams. 1542 (1542): 1. Bibcode:2008CBET.1542….1O. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  6. ^ Veres, Peter; Jedicke, Robert; Fitzsimmons, Alan; Denneau, Larry; Granvik, Mikael; Bolin, Bryce; et al. (November 2015). “Absolute magnitudes and slope parameters for 250,000 asteroids observed by Pan-STARRS PS1 – Preliminary results”. Icarus. 261: 34–47. arXiv:1506.00762. Bibcode:2015Icar..261…34V. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2015.08.007. S2CID 53493339. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  7. ^ a b “15268 Wendelinefroger (1990 WF3)”. Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  8. ^ “MPC/MPO/MPS Archive”. Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 11 November 2016.

External links[edit]