5381 Sekhmet

5381 Sekhmet is an Aten asteroid whose orbit is sometimes closer to the Sun than the Earth's. Carolyn Shoemaker at Palomar Observatory discovered it on 14 May 1991. It is named after Sekhmet, the Egyptian goddess of war.^[3]

5381 Sekhmet

Discovery[1]
Discovered by	C. S. Shoemaker
Discovery site	Palomar Obs.
Discovery date	14 May 1991
Designations
MPC designation	(5381) Sekhmet
Pronunciation	/ˈsɛkmɛt/[2]
Named after	Sekhmet (Egyptian mythology)[3]
Alternative designations	1991 JY
Minor planet category	Aten · NEO
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 27 June 2015 (JD 2457200.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	24.00 yr (8,765 days)
Aphelion	1.2281 AU
Perihelion	0.6667 AU
Semi-major axis	0.9474 AU
Eccentricity	0.2962
Orbital period (sidereal)	0.92 yr (337 days)
Mean anomaly	165.44°
Inclination	48.968°
Longitude of ascending node	58.546°
Argument of perihelion	37.429°
Earth MOID	0.1123 AU
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter	1.42 km[4]
Synodic rotation period	2.8233 h
Spectral type	S[4]
Absolute magnitude (H)	16.6[1]

Sekhmet is believed to be an S-type asteroid, and some believe its diameter is approximately 1.4 km.^[4][5]

In December 2003, a team of astronomers at Arecibo Observatory announced that the asteroid may have a moon that measures 300 m in diameter and orbits approximately 1.5 km from Sekhmet.^[5] This moon is not yet confirmed.