Discovered by A. Mrkos MPC designation 6546 Kaye Observation arc 37.75 yr (13,789 days) Orbits Sun Asteroid group Asteroid belt | Discovery date 24 February 1987 Minor planet category main-belt (outer) Discovered 24 February 1987 | |
Alternative names 1987 DY4 · 1978 RF21991 XM1 People also search for 5026 Martes, 5797 Bivoj, Sun, 45P/Honda–Mrkos–Pajdušáková | ||
6546 Kaye, provisional designation 1987 DY4, is a carbonaceous asteroid from the outer region of the asteroid belt, approximately 22 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 24 February 1987, by Czech astronomer Antonín Mrkos at the South Bohemian Kleť Observatory in the Czech Republic.
The C-type asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 2.9–3.6 AU once every 5 years and 9 months (2,114 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.11 and an inclination of 14° with respect to the ecliptic. It was first identified as "1978 RF2" at Crimea-Nauchnij in 1978, extending the asteroid's observation arc by 9 years prior to its discovery.
In August 2012, two rotational light-curves were obtained for this asteroid from photometric observations at the U.S. Palomar Transient Factory in California. The light-curves gave a rotation period of 10.0059 and 10.0186 hours with a brightness variation of 0.32 and 0.34 magnitude in the R and S-band, respectively (U=2/2).
According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, the asteroid measures between 21.6 and 23.8 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.065 and 0.085. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for carbonaceous asteroids of 0.057 and calculates a diameter of 23.2 kilometers, based on an absolute magnitude of 11.9.
The minor planet was named in memory of American actor and singer David Daniel Kaminsky (1913–1987), known by his screen name as "Danny Kaye". He starred in popular feature films such as The Court Jester (1956), typically playing the role of a gentle bumbler who triumphs eventually. The minor planet's name was suggested by G. V. Williams, who made the identifications for this body. Naming citation was published on 20 June 1997 (M.P.C. 30099).