2253 Espinette
2253 Espinette, provisional designation, is a stony asteroid and sizable Mars-crosser from the innermost regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 7 kilometers in diameter. Discovered by George Van Biesbroeck in 1932, the asteroid was named after the discoverer's residence "Espinette".
Discovery
Espinette was discovered on 30 July 1932, by Belgian–American astronomer George Van Biesbroeck at the U.S. Yerkes Observatory, Wisconsin. The body was independently discovered on the following night by English-born South-African astronomer Cyril Jackson at Johannesburg, and by Soviet–Russian astronomer Grigory Neujmin at Simeiz Observatory on the Crimean peninsula, on August 4. No precoveries were taken. The asteroid's observation arc begins a few days after its official discovering observation.Orbit and classification
The asteroid orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.6–2.9 AU once every 3 years and 5 months. Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.28 and an inclination of 4° with respect to the ecliptic.Physical characteristics
In the SMASS taxonomic scheme, Espinette is classified as a Sl-subtype, which transitions from the common S-type asteroids to the much redder L-type asteroids.Rotation period
Several rotational lightcurves of Espinette have been obtained. In April 2011, photometric observations by American astronomer Brian A. Skiff rendered a well-defined rotation period of hours with a brightness variation of 0.25 magnitude.In August 2015, another observation by Robert Stephens at the Center for Solar System Studies, California, gave an identical period of with an amplitude of 0.44 magnitude. Previous observations by Polish astronomer Wiesław Z. Wiśniewski in 1987, and by Italian Federico Manzini in 2005, rendered similar results.