7002 BRONSHTEN: A NEW MARS-CROSSING BINARY.

Abstract

CCD photometric observations of the Mars-crosser asteroid 7002 Bronshten show it to be a binary system. The primary period is P₁ = 2.67025 ± 0.00007 h. The orbital period of the satellite, which is also its rotation period, is P_ORB = 13.323 ± 0.003 h. The mutual event attenuations in the satellite lightcurve are 0.06-0.11 mag. This establishes a lower limit of the secondary-to-primary mean diameter ratio of 0.24 ± 0.02.