2022 West
2022 West, provisional designation, is a stony asteroid from the middle regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 12 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth at Heidelberg Observatory on 7 February 1938. The asteroid was named after Danish astronomer Richard M. West.
Classification and orbit
West orbits the Sun in the central main-belt at a distance of 2.4–3.0 AU once every 4 years and 5 months. Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.12 and an inclination of 6° with respect to the ecliptic. The asteroid observation arc begins at Heidelberg one month after its official discovery observation in March 1938.Physical characteristics
In the SMASS classification, West is a common S-type asteroid.Lightcurves
In November 2016, a first rotational lightcurve of West was obtained from photometric observations by Italian astronomers. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of 14.14 hours with a brightness variation of 0.50 magnitude.Diameter
According to the surveys carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite and the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, West measures between 11.04 and 12.916 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo between 0.1682 and 0.23.The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for carbonaceous asteroids of 0.057 and consequently calculates a much larger diameter of 26.64 kilometers using an absolute magnitude of 11.6.