12148 Caravaggio

12148 Caravaggio

12148 Caravaggio (circled) imaged next to a background star
Discovery
Discovered by	C. J. van Houten, I. van Houten-Groeneveld, and Tom Gehrels
Discovery site	Palomar Observatory
Discovery date	September 24, 1960
Designations
Named after	Caravaggio
Alternative designations	1990 WS12, 6636 P-L
Minor planet category	Main belt
Orbital characteristics
Epoch November 21, 2025 (JD 2461000.5)
Observation arc	65.548 yr
Aphelion	2.934 AU
Perihelion	2.835 AU
Semi-major axis	2.885 AU
Eccentricity	0.017
Orbital period (sidereal)	1789.725 d (4.9 yr)
Mean anomaly	312.579°
Mean motion	0° 12m 4.25124s / day
Inclination	3.774°
Longitude of ascending node	116.03°
Argument of perihelion	45.311°
Known satellites	1
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter	8.75 km
Mean density	1.3 g/cm3
Absolute magnitude (H)	14.22

12148 Caravaggio (provisional designation 1990 WS₁₂) is a binary main-belt asteroid discovered in 1990 by C. J. van Houten, I. van Houten-Groeneveld, and T. Gehrels, and was identified as a binary in 2026 by J.-F. Gout, D. Herald, D. Gault, C. Weber, and B. Anderson. It was discovered during the Palomar–Leiden survey at the Palomar Observatory.

Naming

On Nov 28, 2010, the asteroid was named after Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571–1610), an important Italian painter during the Renaissance. He was forgotted after his death, but his importance was rediscovered because of his influence on the Baroque style.

Satellite

On January 27, 2026, a stellar occultation observed from Starkville, Mississippi revealed a companion to this system, and was announced on April 6, 2026. As of July 2026, this companion is unnamed.

This companion is about 1.85 km in diameter, and orbits Caravaggio in 8.3 days, with an estimated separation of 73.9 km.