| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | C. S. Shoemaker E. M. Shoemaker |
| Discovery site | Palomar Obs. |
| Discovery date | 5 June 1994 |
| Designations | |
| (7958) Leakey | |
Named after | Leakey family (Mary,Louis,Richard)[2] |
| 1994 LE3 · 1991 GT | |
| main-belt · Hungaria[3][4] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 31.09 yr (11,355 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.0211AU |
| Perihelion | 1.7329 AU |
| 1.8770 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.0768 |
| 2.57yr (939 days) | |
| 296.31° | |
| Inclination | 21.973° |
| 195.74° | |
| 154.20° | |
| Knownsatellites | 1[5][6][a][b] |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 2.94±0.17 km[7] 3.35 km(calculated)[4] |
| 2.34831±0.00003h[b] 2.34843±0.00006 h[6][a] | |
| 0.30(assumed)[4] 0.468±0.073[7] | |
| E[4] | |
| 14.3[1][4] | |
7958 Leakey, provisional designation1994 LE3, is a Hungariaasteroid and synchronousbinary system from the inner regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 3 kilometers in diameter.
It was discovered on 5 June 1994, by American astronomer-coupleCarolyn andEugene Shoemaker at thePalomar Observatory in California, United States.[3] Itsminor-planet moon was discovered in 2012. The asteroid was named after the members of the Leakey family:Mary,Louis andRichard.[2]
Leakey is a member of theHungaria family, which form the innermost dense concentration of asteroids in the Solar System. It orbits the Sun in theinner main-belt at a distance of 1.7–2.0 AU once every 2 years and 7 months (939 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.08 and aninclination of 22° with respect to theecliptic.[1]
Leakey is an assumedE-type asteroid.[4]
In 2012, and 2015, severallightcurves ofLeakey were obtained by astronomersBrian Warner,Robert Stephens and Daniel Coley. Lightcurve analysis gave a concurring and well-definedrotation period of 2.35 hours with a brightness variation between 0.19 and 0.22magnitude (U=3/3/3-).[6][a][b][c]
According to the survey carried out by theNEOWISE mission of NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer,Leakey measures 2.94 kilometers in diameter and its surface has a highalbedo of 0.468.[7]
TheCollaborative 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 anabsolute magnitude of 14.3.[4]
The 2012-photometric lightcurve observation also revealed, thatLeakey is a synchronousbinary asteroid with aminor-planet moon orbiting it every 50.24 hours.[5][6][a]
It is likely that the secondary body istidally locked, which means that its rotation is synchronous with its orbital period. Based on only two observations at the Palmer Divide Observatory (716), it is tentatively estimated that the size-ratio of the binary system is0.3±0.03, which would give a 1-kilometer diameter for the satellite.[6]
The minor planet is named after the Leakey's, a family of Kenyanpaleoanthropologists:Mary Leakey (1913–1996), her husbandLouis Leakey (1903–1972), and their sonRichard Leakey (born 1944). Working for many years in Tanzania and Kenya, they conclusively proved that human evolutionbegan in Africa rather than Asia. Richard explored theKoobi Fora archaeological site in Kenya, where many Hominin fossils have been found.[2] The approved naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 11 April 1998 (M.P.C. 31612).[8]
