7958 Leakey

7958 Leakey
Discovery [1]
Discovered by C. S. Shoemaker
E. M. Shoemaker
Discovery site Palomar Obs.
Discovery date 5 June 1994
Designations
MPC designation 7958 Leakey
Named after
 Leakey family
(Mary, Louis, Richard)[2]
1994 LE3 · 1991 GT
main-belt (inner) · Hungaria [3]
Orbital characteristics [1]
Epoch 13 January 2016 (JD 2457400.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc 10890 days (29.82 yr)
Aphelion 2.0216 AU (302.43 Gm)
Perihelion 1.7325 AU (259.18 Gm)
1.8771 AU (280.81 Gm)
Eccentricity 0.076997
2.57 yr (939.32 d)
66.699°
0° 22m 59.736s / day
Inclination 21.971°
195.74°
153.90°
Known satellites 1[4][lower-alpha 1]
Earth MOID 0.739519 AU (110.6305 Gm)
Jupiter MOID 3.20542 AU (479.524 Gm)
Jupiter Tisserand parameter 3.883
Physical characteristics
Dimensions 2.94±0.17 km[5]
3.35 km (calculated)[3]
2.34843±0.00006 h[4]
2.34831±0.00003 h[lower-alpha 1]
0.468±0.073[5]
0.30 (assumed)[3]
E [3]
14.3[1]

    7958 Leakey, provisional designation 1994 LE3, is a stony binary asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, about 3 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by the American astronomer-couple Carolyn and Eugene Shoemaker at the U.S. Palomar Observatory in southern California, on 5 June 1994.[6]

    The E-type asteroid is a member of the Hungaria family, which form the innermost dense concentration of asteroids in the Solar System. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.7–2.0 AU once every 2 years and 7 months (939 days). Its orbit shows an eccentricity of 0.08 and is tilted by 22 degrees to the plane of the ecliptic. According to observations carried out by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer and its subsequent NEOWISE mission, the body has an albedo of 0.47, while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a value of 0.30 – a somewhat more typical value for E-type asteroids.[3][5] Two different light-curve analysis in 2012 and 2015, rendered a concurring and well-defined rotation period of 2.35 hours for the primary body.[4][lower-alpha 1]

    The asteroid's binary companion was discovered in 2012 with an orbital period of 2 days, 2 hours, and 17 minutes (50.24 h).[7] It is likely that the secondary body is tidally locked, which means that its rotation is synchronous with its orbital period. Based on only two observations at the Palmer Divide Observatory, it is tentatively estimated that the size-ratio of the binary system is 0.3±0.03, which would give a 1-kilometer diameter for the satellite.[4]

    The minor planet is named after the Leakey's, a family of Kenyan paleoanthropologists: Mary Leakey (1913–1996), her husband Louis Leakey (1903–1972), and their son Richard Leakey (b. 1944). Working for many years in Tanzania and Kenya, they conclusively proved that human evolution began in Africa rather than Asia. Richard explored the Koobi Fora archaeological site in Kenya, where many Hominin fossils have been found.[2]

    References

    1. 1 2 3 Stephens (2015) web: rotation period 2.34831±0.00003 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.19 mag. Summary figures at Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL) for (7958) Leakey
    1. 1 2 3 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 7958 Leakey (1994 LE3)" (2015-11-17 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
    2. 1 2 Schmadel, Lutz D. (2003). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (7958) Leakey. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 732. ISBN 978-3-540-29925-7. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
    3. 1 2 3 4 5 "LCDB Data for (7958) Leakey". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 17 December 2015.
    4. 1 2 3 4 Warner, Brian D.; Coley, Daniel; Harris, Alan W. (October 2012). "Lightcurve for 7958 Leakey: A New Hungaria Binary". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 39 (4): 240–241. Bibcode:2012MPBu...39..240W. ISSN 1052-8091. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
    5. 1 2 3 Masiero, Joseph R.; Mainzer, A. K.; Grav, T.; Bauer, J. M.; Cutri, R. M.; Nugent, C.; Cabrera, M. S. (November 2012). "Preliminary Analysis of WISE/NEOWISE 3-Band Cryogenic and Post-cryogenic Observations of Main Belt Asteroids". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 759 (1): 5. arXiv:1209.5794Freely accessible. Bibcode:2012ApJ...759L...8M. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/759/1/L8. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
    6. ↑ "7958 Leakey (1994 LE3)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
    7. ↑ Johnston, Robert. "(7958) Leakey". johnstonsarchive.net. Retrieved 29 May 2015.

    External links


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