3322 Lidiya

Orbit and classification

Lidiya is a member of the Phocaea family (701), a large asteroid family of inner-belt asteroids with a stony composition. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 1.9–2.9 AU once every 3 years and 8 months (1,351 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.22 and an inclination of 23° with respect to the ecliptic.

The body's observation arc begins with its first identification as at Nauchnij in November 1975, one month prior to its official discovery observation.

Physical characteristics

Lidiya has been characterized as a stony S-type asteroid by PanSTARRS photometric survey.

Potentially slow rotator

In December 2012, a fragmentary rotational lightcurve of Lidiya was obtained from photometric observations at the Altimira Observatory (G76) in California. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of 710 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.60 magnitude (). This would make Lidiya one of the slowest rotators known to exist. However, since the lightcurve has such a poor quality rating, it is only a potentially slow rotator.

Diameter and albedo

According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Lidiya measures 6.388 and 7.189 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.350 and 0.3776, respectively.

The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.23 – derived from 25 Phocaea, the Phocaea family's largest member and namesake – and calculates a diameter of 7.99 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 12.7.

Naming

This minor planet was named after Russian aviator Lidiya Vissarionovna Zvereva (1890–1916), the first Russian female pilot, who began flying in 1911. She was also an instructor of other pilots and involved in the construction of airplanes. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 4 October 1990 (M.P.C. 17027). The crater on Venus, Zvereva was also named in her honor in 1985.

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