(10978) Barbchen Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 29 September 1973 by van Houten, C. J., van Houten-Groeneveld, I., Gehrels, T. at Palomar.
Bärbchen was the pet name of Barbara Börngen (1934-2010) who always supported the activities of her husband at the Tautenburg Observatory. The name was suggested by F. Börngen and L. D. Schmadel.Naming citation (20111012/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Barbchen is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Barbchen is 2.66 au from the Sun and 3.17 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 10978 |
| Provisional designation | 4095 T-2 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 7.30 km (#7,309 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0760 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.48 |
| Orbital period | 5.41 years |
| Semi-major axis | 3.08 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.65 – 3.52 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.141 |
| Inclination | 15.5° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.68 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Barbara
- (6176) Horrigan
- (6816) Barbcohen
- (7294) Barbaraakey
- (13312) Orlowitz
- (14291) Savereide
- (15056) Barbaradixon
- (16102) Barshannon
- (16273) Oneill
- (19982) Barbaradoore
- (20555) Jennings
- (23055) Barbjewett
- (24065) Barbfriedman
All asteroids named after someone called Barbara
Also discovered on 29 September 1973
- (2049) Grietje
- (4357) Korinthos
- (4549) Burkhardt
- (4721) Atahualpa
- (4752) Myron
- (4876) Strabo
- (4978) Seitz
- (5151) Weerstra
- (5197) Rottmann
- (5243) Clasien
- (5244) Amphilochos
- (5266) Rauch