10988 Feinstein

10988 Feinstein (provisional designation 1968 OL) is a stony Phocaea asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt. Approximately 3.4 kilometers in diameter, it was discovered on 28 July 1968 by astronomers at the Félix Aguilar Observatory in El Leoncito, Argentina. The asteroid was named after Argentine astronomer Alejandro Feinstein in 2008.^[2]

10988 Feinstein

Discovery[1]
Discovered by	Félix Aguilar Obs.
Discovery site	Félix Aguilar Obs.
Discovery date	28 July 1968
Designations
MPC designation	(10988) Feinstein
Named after	Alejandro Feinstein (Argentine astronomer)[2]
Alternative designations	1968 OL · 1992 NH
Minor planet category	main-belt · Phocaea[3] background[4]
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	48.27 yr (17,630 days)
Aphelion	2.8707 AU
Perihelion	1.6887 AU
Semi-major axis	2.2797 AU
Eccentricity	0.2592
Orbital period (sidereal)	3.44 yr (1,257 days)
Mean anomaly	136.20°
Mean motion	0° 17m 10.68s / day
Inclination	24.043°
Longitude of ascending node	117.60°
Argument of perihelion	127.38°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	3.43 km (calculated)[3]
Synodic rotation period	2.6723±0.0005 h[a]
Geometric albedo	0.23 (assumed)[3]
Spectral type	S[3][5]
Absolute magnitude (H)	14.09±0.16[a] · 14.3[1] · 14.54[3] · 14.65±0.23[5]

Orbit and classification

Dynamically, Feinstein is a member of the Phocaea family (701),^[3] a large inner-belt asteroid family of stony composition. However, no membership to any known family could be found when using the Hierarchical Clustering Method.^[4]

Feinstein orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.7–2.9 AU once every 3 years and 5 months (1,257 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.26 and an inclination of 24° with respect to the ecliptic.^[1] The body's observation arc begins at El Leoncito with its official discovery observation in 1968.^[2]

Physical characteristics

Feinstein has been characterized as a common stony S-type asteroid by PanSTARRS photometric survey,^[5] which agrees with the family's overall spectral type.^[6]: 23

Rotation period

In May 2016, a rotational lightcurve of Feinstein was obtained from photometric observations by Czech astronomer Petr Pravec at Ondřejov Observatory. Lightcurve analysis gave a short rotation period of 2.6723 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.11 magnitude (U=3-).^[a]

Diameter and albedo

The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.23 – derived from 25 Phocaea, the Phocaea family's largest member and namesake – and calculates a mean-diameter of 3.43 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 14.54.^[3]

Naming

This minor planet was named after Argentinian astronomer Alejandro Feinstein (born 1928) at La Plata Astronomical Observatory in La Plata, and one of the co-founders of the Argentinian Astronomical Association (Spanish: Asociación Argentina de Astronomía).^[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 20 May 2008 (M.P.C. 62929).^[7]

Notes

1. Pravec (2016) web: lightcurve plot of (10988) Feinstein. Rotation period 2.6723±0.0005 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.11±0.01 mag. Quality Code: 3-. Source data from the Ondrejov Asteroid Photometry Project. Summary figures at Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL)