| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | N. Chernykh |
| Discovery site | Crimean Astrophysical Obs. |
| Discovery date | 22 September 1973 |
| Designations | |
| (2004) Lexell | |
Named after | Anders Johan Lexell (Swedish-Russian astronomer)[2] |
| 1973 SV2 · 1938 WL 1941 SN1 · 1959 GC 1972 HK | |
| main-belt · Flora[3] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 78.55 yr (28,689 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.3451AU |
| Perihelion | 1.9986 AU |
| 2.1718 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.0798 |
| 3.20yr (1,169 days) | |
| 215.94° | |
| 0° 18m 28.44s / day | |
| Inclination | 2.4967° |
| 4.5440° | |
| 58.504° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 7.255±0.216 km[4] 7.456±0.084 km[5] 7.82 km(calculated)[3] 14.7 km[6] |
| 5.44±0.02 h[7] 5.441±0.002 h[8] 5.4429±0.0003h[6] | |
| 0.056[6] 0.24(assumed)[3] 0.2908±0.0522[5] 0.306±0.041[4] | |
| LS[9] · S[3] | |
| 12.6[5] · 12.7[1][3] · 12.908±0.064[6] · 13.04±0.00[9] | |
2004 Lexell, provisional designation1973 SV2, is a stony Florianasteroid from the inner regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 7.5 kilometers in diameter. The asteroid was discovered on 22 September 1973, by Soviet astronomerNikolai Chernykh at theCrimean Astrophysical Observatory in Nauchnij, on the Crimean peninsula, and later named for Swedish-Russian astronomer and mathematicianAnders Johan Lexell.[2][10]
Lexell is a member of theFlora family, one of the largest collisional populations ofstony asteroids. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.0–2.3 AU once every 3 years and 2 months (1,169 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.08 and aninclination of 2° with respect to theecliptic.[1]
The asteroid was first identified as1938 WL at the FinnishTurku Observatory in November 1938, extending the body'sobservation arc by 35 years prior to its official discovery observation at Nauchnij.[10]
Pan-STARRS' photometric survey characterizedLexell as a LS-type asteroid, which transitions between the commonS-type and rareL-type asteroid.[9]
In March 2013, two rotationallightcurves ofLexell were obtained from photometric observations by Gary Haagen at Stonegate Observatory, Massachusetts, and by a group of astronomers at the Oakley Southern Sky Observatory (E09), Australia. Lightcurve analysis gave a well-definedrotation period of 5.441 and 5.4429 hours with a brightness variation of 0.45 and 0.42magnitude, respectively (U=3/3).[6][8]
In February 2013, observations made by French amateur astronomerPierre Antonini gave a concurring period of 5.44 hours with an amplitude of 0.51 magnitude (U=3-).[7]
According to the survey carried out by theNEOWISE mission of NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer,Lexell measures 7.255 and 7.456 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo of 0.306 and 0.2908, respectively.[4][5] TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.24 – derived from8 Flora, the largest member and namesake of the Flora family – and calculates a diameter of 7.82 kilometers based on anabsolute magnitude of 12.7.[3]
Thisminor planet was named afterAnders Johan Lexell (1740–1784), a Swedish-Russian astronomer and mathematician. The officialnaming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 15 October 1977 (M.P.C. 4238).[11] The lunar craterLexell was also named in his honor, as isLexell's Comet, of which he computed its orbit.[2]
