(256369) Vilain Main-belt Asteroid
Discovered on 20 December 2006 by B. Christophe at Saint-Sulpice.
Christiane Vilain (b. 1949) is a retired researcher and teacher of physics and the history of physics, who now works on conceptual questions dealing with mechanics, relativity, and the relations between experience and theory. She worked at the University Denis Diderot (Paris7).Naming citation (MPC batch dated 2015-01-05), IAU / Minor Planet Center, via NASA/JPL
Where Vilain is today
Seen from above the solar system on 2026-10-14: Vilain is 2.71 au from the Sun and 2.86 au from Earth. Computed from JPL's orbital elements.
Facts
| Number | 256369 |
| Provisional designation | 2006 YB3 |
| Orbit class | Main-belt Asteroid |
| Diameter | 1.34 km (#17,384 largest of 17,440 named asteroids with a measured size) |
| Albedo | 0.0900 |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 17.72 |
| Orbital period | 4.22 years |
| Semi-major axis | 2.61 au |
| Perihelion – aphelion | 1.80 – 3.43 au |
| Eccentricity | 0.312 |
| Inclination | 0.481° |
| Closest distance between its orbit and Earth's (MOID) | 0.807 au |
Data: NASA/JPL Small-Body Database and the IAU Minor Planet Center.
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