6433 Enya, provisional designation 1978 WC, is a stony background asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 18 November 1978, by Czech astronomer Antonín Mrkos at the Kleť Observatory in the Czech Republic.[10] It was named for Irish musician Enya.[2]
Orbit and classification
Enya is a non-family asteroid from the main belt's background population. It orbits the Sun in the inner asteroid belt at a distance of 1.9–2.9 AU once every 3 years and 8 months (1,348 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.22 and an inclination of 9° with respect to the ecliptic.[1]Enya was first identified as 1952 UH at Goethe Link Observatory in 1952. The body's observation arc, however, begins with its official discovery observation at Kleť in 1978.[10]
In March 2013, a fragmentary rotational lightcurve of Enya was obtained from photometric observations at the Palomar Transient Factory in California. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of 7.4 hours with a brightness variation of 0.08 magnitude (U=1).[8]
As of 2017, no other lightcurve has since been obtained from Enya.[3]
Diameter and albedo
According to the survey carried out by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequent NEOWISE mission, Enya measures between 6.69 and 7.416 kilometers in diameter, and its surface has an albedo between 0.012 and 0.090.[4][5][6][7]
The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 3.68 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 14.54.[3]
Naming
This minor planet was named after Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin (born 1961), known as Enya, an Irish singer, songwriter, musician, and producer.[2] Naming was proposed by G. V. Williams and published on 20 June 1997 (M.P.C. 30099).[11]