| Discovery [1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | C. J. van Houten I. van Houten-G. Tom Gehrels |
| Discovery site | Palomar Obs. |
| Discovery date | 26 September 1960 |
| Designations | |
| (10244) Thüringer Wald | |
Named after | Thuringian Forest [1] (German mountain range) |
| 4668 P-L ·1990 TB14 | |
| main-belt [1] [2] ·(inner) Vesta [3] | |
| Orbital characteristics [2] | |
| Epoch 23 March 2018 (JD 2458200.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 57.42 yr (20,973 d) |
| Aphelion | 2.6482 AU |
| Perihelion | 2.1598 AU |
| 2.4040 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1016 |
| 3.73 yr (1,361 d) | |
| 109.85° | |
| 0° 15m 51.84s / day | |
| Inclination | 7.4739° |
| 28.159° | |
| 27.932° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 3.346±0.207 km [4] | |
| 0.190±0.054 [4] | |
| 14.6 [2] | |
10244 Thüringer Wald, provisional designation 4668 P-L, is a Vestian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 3.3 kilometers (2.1 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 26 September 1960, by Ingrid and Cornelis van Houten at Leiden, and Tom Gehrels at Palomar Observatory in California, United States. The asteroid was named after the Thuringian Forest, a German mountain range. [1]
Thüringer Wald is a member of the Vesta family ( 401 ). [3] Vestian asteroids have a composition akin to cumulate eucrites (HED meteorites) and are thought to have originated deep within 4 Vesta's crust, possibly from the Rheasilvia crater, a large impact crater on its southern hemisphere near the South pole, formed as a result of a subcatastrophic collision. Vesta is the main belt's second-largest and second-most-massive body after Ceres. [5] [6]
Thüringer Wald orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 2.2–2.6 AU once every 3 years and 9 months (1,361 days; semi-major axis of 2.4 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.10 and an inclination of 7° with respect to the ecliptic. [2] Its observation arc begins with its official discovery observation at Palomar in September 1960. [1]
The asteroid's spectral type is unknown. [2] Vestian asteroids typically have a V- or S-type, [5] with albedos higher than measured by the WISE telescope (see below). It has an absolute magnitude of 14.6. As of 2018, no rotational lightcurve of Thüringer Wald has been obtained from photometric observations. The body's rotation period, pole and shape remain unknown. [2]
According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's WISE telescope, Thüringer Wald measures 3.346 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.190. [4]
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. [7]
This minor planet was named after the Thuringian Forest (German : Thüringer Wald), a mountain range in central Germany. [1] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 1 May 2003 ( M.P.C. 48390). [8]
3494 Purple Mountain, provisional designation 1980 XW, is a bright Vestian asteroid and a formerly lost minor planet from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 6.5 kilometers in diameter. First observed in 1962, it was officially discovered on 7 December 1980, by Chinese astronomers at the Purple Mountain Observatory in Nanking, China, and later named in honor of the discovering observatory. The V-type asteroid has a rotation period of 5.9 hours.
2934 Aristophanes, provisional designation 4006 P-L, is a carbonaceous Veritasian asteroid from the outer regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 22 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered during the Palomar–Leiden survey in 1960, and later named after ancient Greek dramatist Aristophanes.
2436 Hatshepsut, provisional designation 6066 P-L, is a Hygiean asteroid from the outer asteroid belt, approximately 19 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by Cornelis van Houten, Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld and Tom Gehrels at Palomar Observatory on 24 September 1960. It was named for pharaoh Hatshepsut.
10979 Fristephenson is a carbonaceous Sulamitis asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 5 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered during the Palomar–Leiden Trojan survey on 29 September 1973, by Ingrid and Cornelis van Houten at Leiden, and Tom Gehrels at Palomar Observatory in California, United States. The dark C-type asteroid was named for British historian of astronomy Francis Richard Stephenson.
4354 Euclides, provisional designation 2142 P-L, is a dark Dorian asteroid from the central regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 12 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 24 September 1960, by Dutch astronomer couple Ingrid and Cornelis van Houten on photographic plates taken by Dutch–American astronomer Tom Gehrels at Palomar Observatory in California. The likely C-type asteroid was named after the Greek mathematician Euclid.
10252 Heidigraf, provisional designation 4164 T-1, is a Koronian asteroid from the outer regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 6 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered during the Palomar–Leiden Trojan survey on 26 March 1971, by Ingrid and Cornelis van Houten at Leiden, and Tom Gehrels at Palomar Observatory in California, United States. The likely elongated S-type asteroid has a brightness variation of 0.56 magnitude. It was named after Heidi Graf, a former Head of the ESTEC Communications Office.

9912 Donizetti, provisional designation 2078 T-3, is a stony Rafita asteroid from the central regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 7 km in diameter. It was discovered during the third Palomar–Leiden Trojan survey in 1977, and named after Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti.
8318 Averroes is a dark Themistian asteroid from the outer regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 10 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 29 September 1973, by Dutch astronomers Ingrid and Cornelis van Houten at Leiden, and Tom Gehrels the Palomar Observatory, and assigned the provisional designation 1306 T-2. The likely C-type asteroid was named after medieval Muslim astronomer Averroës.
Bacon, provisional designation 3042 P-L, is a carbonaceous Dorian asteroid from the central region of the asteroid belt, approximately 9 kilometers 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. It was later named after English philosopher and statesman Francis Bacon.
5655 Barney, provisional designation 1159 T-2, is a Maria asteroid from the central regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 6.5 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered during the second Palomar–Leiden Trojan survey in 1973, and named for American astronomer Ida Barney in 1994. The stony S-type asteroid has a rotation period of 2.66 hours.

5196 Bustelli is a stony Eunomia asteroid from the central regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 6 kilometers kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 30 September 1973, by Dutch astronomers Ingrid and Cornelis van Houten at Leiden, and Tom Gehrels the Palomar Observatory. The S-type asteroid was named after Italian-Swiss artist Franz Anton Bustelli.
10245 Inselsberg, provisional designation 6071 P-L, is a Gefion asteroid from the central regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 7 kilometers 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.
1776 Kuiper, provisional designation 2520 P-L, is a dark Eoan asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 38 kilometers in diameter.
7687 Matthias, provisional designation 2099 P-L, is a stony Florian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 4 kilometers 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. The S-type asteroid was named for German amateur astronomer Matthias Busch.
1979 Sakharov, provisionally designated 2006 P-L, is a stony Vestian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 4.5 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered during the Palomar–Leiden survey in 1960, and named after Russian physicist Andrei Sakharov.
7794 Sanvito, provisional designation 1996 AD4, is a bright Vestian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 4.6 kilometers (2.9 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 15 January 1996, by Italian astronomers Ulisse Munari and Maura Tombelli at the Cima Ekar Observing Station in Tuscany, Italy. The likely V-type asteroid was named after Italian amateur astronomer Roberto di San Vito.

6257 Thorvaldsen, provisional designation 4098 T-1, is a bright Vestian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 4.3 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered during the Palomar–Leiden Trojan survey on 26 March 1971, by Ingrid and Cornelis van Houten at Leiden, and Tom Gehrels at Palomar Observatory in California. The asteroid was named for Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen.
5756 Wassenbergh, provisional designation 6034 P-L, is a Rafita asteroid from the central regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 4 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 24 September 1960, by Dutch astronomer couple Ingrid and Cornelis van Houten on photographic plates taken by Dutch–American astronomer Tom Gehrels at the Palomar Observatory in California, United States. The asteroid was named after Dutch professor of law, Henri Wassenbergh.
10251 Mulisch, provisional designation 3089 T-1, is a bright background asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 2.4 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered during the Palomar–Leiden Trojan survey on 26 March 1971, by Ingrid and Cornelis van Houten at Leiden, and Tom Gehrels at Palomar Observatory in California, United States. The asteroid was named after Dutch writer Harry Mulisch.
3703 Volkonskaya, provisional designation 1978 PU3, is a Vestian asteroid and asynchronous binary system from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 9 August 1978, by Soviet astronomers Lyudmila Chernykh and Nikolai Chernykh at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory in Nauchnij, on the Crimean peninsula. It was named by the discoverers after the Russian princess Mariya Volkonskaya. The V-type asteroid has a rotation period of 3.2 hours. The discovery of its 1.4-kilometer minor-planet moon was announced in December 2005.