Discovered by B. A. Skiff MPC designation 4147 Lennon Observation arc 44.48 yr (16,247 days) Orbits Sun | Discovery date 12 January 1983 Minor planet category main-belt · Vestian Discovered 12 January 1983 Discoverer Brian A. Skiff | |
Alternative names 1983 AY · 1971 YG1980 KA Similar Asteroid belt, Sun, Solar System, 3552 Don Quixote, 243 Ida | ||
4147 Lennon, provisional designation 1983 AY, is a stony Vestian asteroid and a potentially slow rotator from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 7 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by American astronomer Brian A. Skiff at Lowell's Anderson Mesa Station on 12 January 1983.
The asteroid is a member of the Vesta family, which is named after the main-belt's second largest asteroid, 4 Vesta. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.2–2.6 AU once every 3 years and 8 months (1,326 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.08 and an inclination of 6° with respect to the ecliptic. The first observation was made at Crimea–Nauchnij in 1971, extending the asteroid's observation arc by 12 years prior to its discovery.
In October 2004, a rotational light-curve was obtained during a photometric survey of V-type asteroids at several observatories in Japan. The fragmentary light-curve gave a very long rotation period of 137 hours with a high brightness variation of 0.6 in magnitude (U=1).
According to the surveys carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, the asteroid measures 5.2 and 7.1 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.24 of 0.42, respectively. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an standard albedo for S-type asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 7.5 kilometers. The discrepancy is due to disagreement on the body's spectral type (V or S).
The minor planet was named in memory of English musician John Lennon (1940–1980), co-founder of The Beatles, one of the most successful bands in the history of popular music, and famous for their album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and the song Imagine. The minor planets 8749 Beatles, 4149 Harrison, 4148 McCartney and 4150 Starr, were named after the band and its three other members. Naming citation was published on 10 April 1990 (M.P.C. 16247).