Asteroids with Satellites Database--Johnston's Archive

(7958) Leakey

compiled by Wm. Robert Johnston
last updated 21 September 2014

--Orbital and physical data--

(See this page for definitions of quantities; source codes in brackets, see this link for full references; *A, *D, and *E indicate assumed, derived, and estimated values, respectively.)

dynamical type, primary: main belt asteroid, Hungaria


orbital data, primary (osculating elements) [JPL] :
semimajor axis a: 1.877005940 AU
orbital period P: 2.571619277 yr
(= 939.2839410 d)
eccentricity e: 0.077056381
perihelion distance q: 1.73237065 AU
aphelion distance Q: 2.021641225 AU
inclination i: 21.9707404°
argument of perihelion ω: 154.054586°
ascending node Ω: 195.745035°
mean anomaly M: 196.600545°
perihelion passage TP: 2015 Jul 23.3291
Epoch: 2014 May 23
data arc: 1986-2014 (626 obs.)
Earth MOID: 0.73966 AU
Jupiter Tisserand invariant TJ: 3.883


orbital data, secondary:
semimajor axis as: 10 km [*E]
separation/primary radius as/rp:7.1 [*E]
separation/Hill radius as/rH:0.026 [*E]
orbital period Ps: 2.095 ± 0.003 d [W12b]
eccentricity es: ?
normalized ang. mom. αL: ?

other data, system (combined):
absolute mag. H: 14.1 [MPC]
slope parameter G: (0.15) [*A]
effective diameter dE: 2.94 ± 0.17 km [M12b]
geometric albedo: 0.468 ± 0.073 [M12b]
color index U-B: ?
color index B-V: ?
taxonomic type: ?
mass m: ?
density ρ: (1.6 g/cm3) [*A]
Hill radius rH: 380 km [*E]

other data, primary:
diameter dp: 2.82 ± 0.16 km [*D]
rotation period RPp: 2.34843 ± 0.00006 h [W12b]
amplitude in mag., rotational ΔM: 0.22 [W12b]
pole direction Β, λ: ? , ?


other data, secondary:
diameter ds: 0.85 ± 0.1 km [*D]
axial ratios a/b, b/c:2;? []
diameter ratio ds/dp: 0.30 ± 0.03 [W12b]
component mag. difference ΔM: 2.6 ± 0.2 [*D]
rotation period RPs: ?

-- (7958) Leakey --discovery and notes:

Primary discovered 1994 Jun 05 from Palomar Observatory, California, USA by C. S. Shoemaker and E. M. Shoemaker. Alternate designation(s): 1994 LE3, 1991 GT. Linked to prediscovery observations from 1986 May 05. Permanent number assigned 1997 Oct 16.

Named 1998 Apr 11 for Mary Leakey (1913-1996), Louis Leakey (1903-1972), and Richard Leakey (1944-) [MPC31612].

Companion discovered 2012 Jun 13 by B. D. Warner, D. Coley, and A. W. Harris using lightcurve observations. Announced 2012 Oct [W12b].

--Links, more technical:

--Links, less technical:

--Links to ADS abstracts:


© 2012, 2014 by Wm. Robert Johnston.
Last modified 21 September 2014.
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