Discovered by P. H. Cowell MPC designation 4358 Lynn Discovered 5 October 1909 Asteroid group Asteroid belt | Discovery date 5 October 1909 Orbits Sun | |
Named after William Thynne Lynn(astronomer and author) Alternative names A909 TF · 1943 VB1981 TO1 · 1985 SD61988 GK Discovery site Royal Observatory, Greenwich People also search for Sun, 2384 Schulhof, 817 Annika | ||
4358 Lynn, provisional designation A909 TF, is a stony Eunomia asteroid from the middle region of the asteroid belt, approximately 10 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by British astronomer Philip Herbert Cowell at the Royal Greenwich Observatory on 5 October 1909.
The asteroid is a member of the Eunomia family, a large group of S-type asteroids and the most prominent family in the intermediate main-belt. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.2–3.1 AU once every 4 years and 3 months (1,537 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.17 and an inclination of 13° with respect to the ecliptic. No precoveries or identifications were made prior to its discovery, and the asteroid's observation arc begins in 1909.
According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, the asteroid measures 9.1 kilometers in diameter and its surface has a high albedo of 0.307. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for members of the Eunomia family of 0.21 and calculates a diameter of 10.5 kilometers, based on an absolute magnitude of 12.2. A rotational light-curve was obtained for this asteroid from photometric observations made at the Australian Oakley Southern Sky Observatory (E09) in April 2009. The light-curve gave a well-defined rotation period of 7000383770000000000♠3.8377±0.0006 hours with a brightness variation of 0.60 in magnitude (U=3).
The minor planet is named for William Thynne Lynn (1835–1911), who worked for many years as an assistant at the Royal Greenwich Observatory during the second half of the 19th century. He was also an author of various well received books and many short notes on astronomical topics, which were printed in The Observatory. Naming citation was published on 1 September 1993 (M.P.C. 22501). It was named by the Minor Planet Names Committee after a proposal by Brian G. Marsden.