| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Spacewatch |
| Discovery site | Kitt Peak National Obs. |
| Discovery date | 18 December 1995 |
| Designations | |
| (9223) Leifandersson | |
Named after | Leif Erland Andersson[2][3] (Swedish astronomer) |
| 1995 YY7 · 1949 QK1 1981 UD5 · 1988 VT10 1990 FD4 · 1991 RK | |
| main-belt · Flora[4] background[5][6] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 67.50 yr (24,655 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.4626AU |
| Perihelion | 2.1386 AU |
| 2.3006 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.0704 |
| 3.49yr (1,275 days) | |
| 245.38° | |
| 0° 16m 57s / day | |
| Inclination | 3.4120° |
| 231.82° | |
| 23.837° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 4.498±0.176 km[7][8] 4.64 km(calculated)[4] |
| 3.758±0.0014h[9] | |
| 0.24(assumed)[4] 0.381±0.051[7] 0.3810±0.0513[8] | |
| S(assumed)[4] | |
| 13.384±0.003(R)[9] · 13.4[8] · 13.6[1] · 13.83[4] | |
9223 Leifandersson, provisional designation1995 YY7, is a backgroundasteroid from the inner regions of theasteroid belt, approximately 4.5 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 18 December 1995, by astronomers of theSpacewatch program atKitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, United States. The asteroid was named in memory of Swedish astronomerLeif Erland Andersson.[2] The assumedstony asteroid has arotation period of 3.758 hours.[4]
Leifandersson is a non-family asteroid of the main belt'sbackground population when applying theHierarchical Clustering Method to itsproper orbital elements.[5][6] It has also been classified as a member of theFlora family (402), a giant asteroid family and the largest family of stony asteroids in the main-belt.[4] It orbits the Sun in theinner asteroid belt at a distance of 2.1–2.5 AU once every 3 years and 6 months (1,275 days;semi-major axis of 2.30 AU). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.07 and aninclination of 3° with respect to theecliptic.[1]
The body'sobservation arc begins with its first observation as1949 QK1 atGoethe Link Observatory in August 1948, or more than 47 years prior to its official discovery observation at Kitt Peak.[2]
Leifandersson is an assumed stonyS-type asteroid.[4]
In February 2011, a rotationallightcurve ofLeifandersson was obtained from photometric observations by astronomers at thePalomar Transient Factory in California. Lightcurve analysis gave arotation period of 3.758 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.33magnitude (U=2).[9]
According to the survey carried out by theNEOWISE mission of NASA'sWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer,Leifandersson measures 4.498 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo of 0.3810.[7][8] TheCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.24 – derived from8 Flora, the parent body of the Flora family – and calculates a diameter of 4.64 kilometers based on anabsolute magnitude of 13.83.[4]
Thisminor planet was named after Swedish astronomerLeif Erland Andersson (1943–1979), who calculated the first observable transits ofPluto andCharon and also co-produced a catalogue oflunar craters. The approved naming citation was published by theMinor Planet Center on 24 January 2000 (M.P.C. 38198).[2][10] The lunar craterAndersson was also named in his memory.[3][11]
