Discovery date 24 May 1993 Alternative names 1993 KZ1 Discovered 24 May 1993 Orbits Sun Asteroid group Asteroid belt | MPC designation 29292 Conniewalker Absolute magnitude 13.4 | |
Discovered by C. ShoemakerD. H. Levy Discoverers David H. Levy, Carolyn S. Shoemaker Similar Sun, Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9, 5261 Eureka, 129P/Shoemaker–Levy, 13123 Tyson | ||
29292 Conniewalker, provisional designation 1993 KZ1, is a bright, stony Phocaea asteroid and slow tumbler from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 4.6 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by American astronomer Carolyn Shoemaker and Canadian astronomer David H. Levy at the U.S. Palomar Observatory, California, on 24 May 1993.
The S-type asteroid is a member of the Phocaea family. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.9–2.8 AU once every 3 years and 7 months (1,314 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.20 and an inclination of 26° with respect to the ecliptic. The first precovery was obtained at the Siding Spring Observatory in 1983, extending Conniewalker's observation arc by 10 years prior to its discovery.
In 2011, two photometric light-curve analysis at the U.S. Via Capote Observatory in California and at the Ondřejov Observatory, Czech Republic, rendered a rotation period of 30.6 and 30.5 hours, with a brightness amplitude of 0.62 and 0.63 in magnitude, respectively. Conniewalker is a tumbler. The best light-curve result (U=3-) was achieved during 22 sessions over a 46-day period where the body showed a non-principal axis rotation (NPAR). The slow tumbler had previously been a target in ASU's Photometric Survey for Asynchronous Binary Asteroids.
According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), the body measures about 4.58 kilometers in diameter and has a very bright surface albedo of 0.36, while a later revision of the WISE data gave a lower but still high albedo of 0.31 with a diameter of 4.57 kilometers. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link agrees on the revised data which also includes a raise of the body's absolute magnitude from 13.4 to 13.59.
The minor planet was named in honor of American astronomer Connie Walker (b. 1957), who has examined the formation of stars in galaxies in varying stages of development. She is well known for the educational Project Astro-Tucson and her successful work in astronomy with children and young adults in the U.S. state of Arizona. Naming citation was published on 7 January 2004 (M.P.C. 50464).