Discovered by C. Shoemaker MPC designation 4401 Aditi Alternative names 1985 TB Discovered 14 October 1985 Orbits Sun Discovery site Palomar Observatory | Discovery date 14 October 1985 Named after Aditi (Hindu goddess) Minor planet category Amor · NEO Aphelion 4.04 m Discoverer Carolyn S. Shoemaker Asteroid group Amor asteroid | |
Similar 4954 Eric, Sun, 1580 Betulia, 847 Agnia, Solar System | ||
4401 Aditi, provisional designation 1985 TB, is an eccentric, stony asteroid, classified as near-Earth object and Amor asteroid, about 1.8 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by American astronomer Carolyn Shoemaker at the U.S. Palomar Observatory, California, on 14 October 1985.
The S-type asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.1–4.0 AU once every 4 years and 2 months (1,513 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.56 and an inclination of 27° with respect to the ecliptic. The asteroid's observation arc begins with its discovery, as no precoveries were taken and no identifications were made before 1985. With an Earth minimum orbit intersection distance (MOID) of 0.3288 AU (49,000,000 km), it never approaches Earth close enough to be classified as a potentially hazardous object, for which an upper MOID-limit of 0.05 AU is defined.
Two rotational light-curves were obtained by American astronomer Brian Warner at his Palmer Divide Observatory, Colorado, in August 2014 and March 2015, respectively. The first light-curve gave a period of 7000668300000000000♠6.683±0.005 hours with a brightness variation of 0.64 (U=3-), while the second light curve rendered a period of 7000667000000000000♠6.670±0.005 hours with an amplitude of 0.29 in magnitude (U=3). Other light-curve observations were performed by Benishek and Manzini.
According to the survey carried out by NASA's space-based Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, the body has a high albedo of 0.34 with a corresponding diameter of 1.80 kilometers. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a slightly larger diameter of 1.88 kilometers, as the lower the body's albedo (reflectivity), the higher its diameter, at a constant absolute magnitude (brightness).
The minor planet is named after the Hindu goddess Aditi, celestial mother of every existing form and being. She was the mother of the thirty-three gods, including the Vasus, the Rudras, and the Ādityas, the twelve zodiacal spirits. She is described in Vedic literature as the gods of the heavenly light. Naming citation was published on 30 January 1991 (M.P.C. 17656).