(15295) Tante Riek Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 4 November 1991 by Spacewatch at Kitt Peak.
Helena T. Kuipers-Rietberg (“Tante Riek”, 1893-1944) was one of the founders of the Dutch resistance organization “Landelijke organisatie voor hulp aan Onderduikers”, which helped to hide Jews and escaped prisoners of war during World War II. She was betrayed and died in the concentration camp Ravensbrück.Naming citation (20100527/MPCPages.arc), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Tante Riek is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Tante Riek is 2.45 au from the Sun and 2.45 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 15295 |
| Provisional designation | 1991 VA9 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 2.96 km (#15,307 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.291 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 15.04 |
| Orbital period | 3.61 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.35 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 2.21 – 2.49 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.0598 |
| Inclination | 7.61° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 1.23 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
Also named after someone called Helena
All asteroids named after someone called Helena
Also discovered on 4 November 1991
- (5562) Sumi
- (6729) Emiko
- (6969) Santaro
- (7769) Okuni
- (8864) Aikawa
- (9190) Masako
- (9960) Sekine
- (10099) Glazebrook
- (10343) Church
- (13077) Edschneider
- (20020) Mipach