Asteroids with Satellites Database--Johnston's Archive

(6543) Senna

compiled by Wm. Robert Johnston
last updated 30 August 2026

--Orbital and physical data--

(See this page for definitions of quantities; source codes in brackets, see this link for full references; *A, *D, and *E indicate assumed, derived, and estimated values, respectively.)

dynamical type, primary: main belt asteroid


orbital data, primary (osculating elements) [JPL] :
semimajor axis a: 2.27639310953 AU
orbital period P: 3.4346231736 yr
(= 1254.49611417 d)
eccentricity e: 0.21327822502
perihelion distance q: 1.7908880277 AU
aphelion distance Q: 2.76189819139 AU
inclination i: 4.174846084°
argument of perihelion ω: 85.9582096°
ascending node Ω: 283.29305803°
mean anomaly M: 308.03360514°
perihelion passage TP: 2026 Dec 07.0878900
Epoch: 2026 Jun 09
data arc: 1978-2026 (3498 obs.)
Earth MOID: 0.794915 AU
Jupiter Tisserand invariant TJ: 3.575


orbital data, secondary:
semimajor axis as: 5.0 km [*E]
separation/primary radius as/rp:3.1 [*E]
separation/Hill radius as/rH:0.011 [*E]
orbital period Ps: 0.5758 ± 0.0004 d [B26j]
eccentricity es: ?
normalized ang. mom. αL: ?

other data, system (combined):
absolute mag. H: 14.55 [MPC]
slope parameter G: (0.15) [*A]
effective diameter dE: 3.39 ± 0.08 km [M19a]
geometric albedo: 0.337 ± 0.037 [M19a]
color index U-B: ?
color index B-V: ?
taxonomic type: ?
mass m: ?
density ρ: (1.6 g/cm3) [*A]
Hill radius rH: 460 km [*E]

other data, primary:
diameter dp: 3.26 ± 0.08 km [*D]
dimensions :~3.5 x ~3.0 km [*E]
axial ratios a/b, b/c:1.2, ? [*E]
rotation period RPp: 3.3063 ± 0.0001 h [B26j]
amplitude in mag., rotational ΔM: 0.18 [B26j]
amplitude in mag., mutual events ΔM:0.08 [B26j]
pole direction Β, λ: ? , ?


other data, secondary:
diameter ds: >0.91 km [*D]
diameter ratio ds/dp: >0.28 [B26j]
component mag. difference ΔM: <2.76 [*D]
rotation period RPs: ?

-- (6543) Senna --discovery and notes:

Primary discovered 1985 Oct 11 from Palomar Observatory, California, USA by C. S. Shoemaker. Alternate designation(s): 1985 TP3, 1978 SB2. Linked to prediscovery observations from 1978 Sep 26. Permanent number assigned 1995 Sep 09.

Named 1995 Nov 07 for Ayrton Senna Da Silva (1960-1994) [MPC025980].

Companion discovered 2026 Aug 06 by V. Benishek and P. Pravec using lightcurve observations from Sopot Observatory, Serbia. Announced 2026 Aug 25 [B26j].

--Links, more technical:

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--Links to ADS abstracts:


© 2026 by Wm. Robert Johnston.
Last modified 30 August 2026.
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