| Discovery[1][2] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | C. Shoemaker |
| Discovery site | Palomar Obs. |
| Discovery date | 14 October 1985 |
| Designations | |
| (4401) Aditi | |
Named after | Aditi(Hindu goddess)[3] |
| 1985 TB | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 29.57 yr (10,800 days) |
| Aphelion | 4.0367 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.1228 AU |
| 2.5797 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.5648 |
| 4.14 yr (1,513 days) | |
| 235.58° | |
| 0° 14m 16.44s / day | |
| Inclination | 26.650° |
| 22.902° | |
| 68.144° | |
| Earth MOID | 0.3302 AU (128.6 LD) |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | |
| S[5] | |
4401 Aditi (provisional designation1985 TB) is an eccentric, stonyasteroid, classified as anear-Earth object andAmor asteroid, approximately 1.8 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 14 October 1985 by American astronomerCarolyn Shoemaker atPalomar Observatory in California, and later named after the Hindu goddessAditi.[2][3]
Aditi orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.1–4.0 AU once every 4 years and 2 months (1,513 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.56 and aninclination of 27° with respect to theecliptic.[1] The asteroid'sobservation arc begins with its discovery, as noprecoveries were taken and no identifications were made before 1985.[2]
With an Earth minimum orbit intersection distance,MOID, of 0.3302 AU (49,000,000 km), or 128.6lunar distances, it never approaches Earth close enough to be classified as apotentially hazardous object, for which an upper MOID-limit of 0.05 AU is defined.[1]
Two rotationallightcurves of Aditi were obtained from photometric observations by American astronomerBrian Warner at his Palmer Divide Observatory, Colorado, in August 2014 and March 2015, respectively. The first lightcurve rendered aperiod of6.683 hours with a brightness variation of 0.64 (U=3-),[7] while the second one gave a period of6.670 hours with an amplitude of 0.29magnitude (U=3).[6]
Additional lightcurves were obtained by Benishek (U=n.a.)[a] and Manzini (U=1+).[8]
According to the survey carried out by NASA's space-basedWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequentNEOWISE mission, Aditi has a highalbedo of 0.34 with a corresponding diameter of 1.80 kilometers.[4]
TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stonyS-type asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a slightly larger diameter of 1.88 kilometers, as the lower the body's albedo (reflectivity), the higher its diameter, at a constantabsolute magnitude (brightness).[5]
Thisminor planet is named after the Hindu goddessAditi, celestial mother of every existing form and being. She was the mother of thethirty-three gods, including theVasus, theRudras, and theĀdityas, the twelve zodiacal spirits. She is described in Vedic literature as the gods of the heavenly light.[3] The official naming citation was published on 30 January 1991 (M.P.C.17656).[9]
