9903 Leonhardt, provisional designation 1997 NA1, is a dark asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 10 kilometers in diameter.
![]() Orbit of Leonhardt (blue), with the inner planets and Jupiter (outermost) | |
Discovery [1] | |
---|---|
Discovered by | P. G. Comba |
Discovery site | Prescott Obs. |
Discovery date | 4 July 1997 |
Designations | |
MPC designation | (9903) Leonhardt |
Named after | Gustav Leonhardt (conductor and harpsichordist)[2] |
Alternative designations | 1997 NA1 · 1976 UG6 |
Minor planet category | main-belt [1][3] · (outer) |
Orbital characteristics [1] | |
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
Observation arc | 40.43 yr (14,767 days) |
Aphelion | 3.8232 AU |
Perihelion | 2.3527 AU |
Semi-major axis | 3.0880 AU |
Eccentricity | 0.2381 |
Orbital period (sidereal) | 5.43 yr (1,982 days) |
Mean anomaly | 240.21° |
Mean motion | 0° 10m 53.76s / day |
Inclination | 1.6903° |
Longitude of ascending node | 195.95° |
Argument of perihelion | 139.13° |
Physical characteristics | |
Dimensions | 8.499±0.240 km[4] 17.8 km[5] |
Geometric albedo | 0.042±0.008[4] |
Absolute magnitude (H) | 14.5[1] |
The asteroid was discovered on 4 July 1997, by American amateur astronomer Paul Comba at Prescott Observatory in Arizona, United States.[3] It was named after Dutch keyboard player Gustav Leonhardt.[2]
Leonhardt orbits the Sun in the outer main-belt at a distance of 2.4–3.8 AU once every 5 years and 5 months (1,982 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.24 and an inclination of 2° with respect to the ecliptic.[1]
It was first identified as 1976 UG6 at Kiso Observatory in 1976, extending the body's observation arc by 21 years prior to its official discovery observation at Prescott.[3]
According to the surveys carried out by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite IRAS and NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Leonhardt measures 17.8 and 8.499 kilometers in diameter, respectively.[4][5] WISE/NEOWISE also gives an albedo of 0.042 for the body's surface.[4] It has an absolute magnitude of 14.5.[1]
As of 2017, the asteroid's rotation period and shape remain unknown.[1][6]
This minor planet was named for Gustav Leonhardt (1928–2012), a Dutch conductor and harpsichordist, who founded the Leonhardt Baroque Ensemble. He was known for his many international concert tours and for his large number of recorded baroque works.[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 2 April 1999 (M.P.C. 34356).[7]
The main-belt asteroid 12637 Gustavleonhardt, discovered during the second Palomar–Leiden Trojan survey campaign in 1973, is also named in his honor.[8]
| |
---|---|
|
Small Solar System bodies | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Minor planets |
| ||||||
Comets |
| ||||||
Other |
|