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7958 Leakey
7958 Leakey, provisional designation 1994 LE3, is a Hungaria asteroid and synchronous binary system from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 3 kilometers in diameter.
It was discovered on 5 June 1994, by American astronomer-couple Carolyn and Eugene Shoemaker at the Palomar Observatory in California, United States. Its minor-planet moon was discovered in 2012. The asteroid was named after the members of the Leakey family: Mary, Louis and Richard.
Leakey is a member of the Hungaria family, which form the innermost dense concentration of asteroids in the Solar System. It orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.7–2.0 AU once every 2 years and 7 months (939 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.08 and an inclination of 22° with respect to the ecliptic.
Leakey is an assumed E-type asteroid.
In 2012, and 2015, several lightcurves of Leakey were obtained by astronomers Brian Warner, Robert Stephens and Daniel Coley. Lightcurve analysis gave a concurring and well-defined rotation period of 2.35 hours with a brightness variation between 0.19 and 0.22 magnitude (U=3/3/3-).
According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Leakey measures 2.94 kilometers in diameter and its surface has a high albedo of 0.468.
The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.30 – a compromise value between 0.4 and 0.2, corresponding to the Hungaria asteroids both as family and orbital group – and calculates a diameter of 3.35 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 14.3.
The 2012-photometric lightcurve observation also revealed, that Leakey is a synchronous binary asteroid with a minor-planet moon orbiting it every 50.24 hours.
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7958 Leakey
7958 Leakey, provisional designation 1994 LE3, is a Hungaria asteroid and synchronous binary system from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 3 kilometers in diameter.
It was discovered on 5 June 1994, by American astronomer-couple Carolyn and Eugene Shoemaker at the Palomar Observatory in California, United States. Its minor-planet moon was discovered in 2012. The asteroid was named after the members of the Leakey family: Mary, Louis and Richard.
Leakey is a member of the Hungaria family, which form the innermost dense concentration of asteroids in the Solar System. It orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.7–2.0 AU once every 2 years and 7 months (939 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.08 and an inclination of 22° with respect to the ecliptic.
Leakey is an assumed E-type asteroid.
In 2012, and 2015, several lightcurves of Leakey were obtained by astronomers Brian Warner, Robert Stephens and Daniel Coley. Lightcurve analysis gave a concurring and well-defined rotation period of 2.35 hours with a brightness variation between 0.19 and 0.22 magnitude (U=3/3/3-).
According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Leakey measures 2.94 kilometers in diameter and its surface has a high albedo of 0.468.
The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.30 – a compromise value between 0.4 and 0.2, corresponding to the Hungaria asteroids both as family and orbital group – and calculates a diameter of 3.35 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 14.3.
The 2012-photometric lightcurve observation also revealed, that Leakey is a synchronous binary asteroid with a minor-planet moon orbiting it every 50.24 hours.