10656 Albrecht (provisional designation: 2213 T-1) is a carbonaceous background asteroid located in the outer region of the main asteroid belt, between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. It is an established and catalogued minor planet recognized by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) and the Minor Planet Center.
Discovery
The asteroid was discovered as part of the Palomar–Leiden survey at Palomar Observatory in California. The discovery is attributed to Dutch astronomers Cornelis Johannes van Houten, Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld, and American astronomer Tom Gehrels. The earliest recorded observations of the object date to February 1953, while the discovery itself is listed by the Minor Planet Center as occurring on 25 March 1971. The asteroid also carries the alternate designations 1990 SZ25 and 3011 T-2.
Orbital characteristics
According to data from the IAU Minor Planet Center and JPL's Small-Body Database, 10656 Albrecht orbits the Sun with a semi-major axis of approximately 3.17–3.18 AU and an orbital period of about 5.67 years. Its orbit has an eccentricity of roughly 0.085, bringing it as close as approximately 2.90 AU at perihelion and as far as about 3.44 AU at aphelion. The orbit is inclined to the ecliptic by approximately 8.5 degrees. The asteroid's minimum orbit intersection distance (MOID) with Earth is approximately 1.90 AU, meaning it poses no near-Earth threat; it is not classified as a potentially hazardous object.
Physical characteristics
Estimates of the asteroid's diameter vary among sources, with figures ranging from approximately 7 km to approximately 10 km. Its absolute magnitude is reported as approximately 13.0, and it has an observed rotation period of roughly 14.5 hours. The object is described as carbonaceous in composition and is classified as a background asteroid—meaning it does not belong to a recognized dynamical family.
Naming
The asteroid was named in honor of German astronomer Carl Theodor Albrecht (1843–1915). Albrecht was instrumental in establishing the International Latitude Service (ILS), an organization dedicated to monitoring variations in the Earth's rotation and polar motion. He became the first head of the ILS when it was established in 1899 at the Prussian Geodetic Institute in Potsdam, Germany. The official naming citation was published in Minor Planet Circular 47167.
