Kenos is a member of the Hungaria family, which form the innermost dense concentration of asteroids in the Solar System. IT orbits the Sun in the inner main-belt at a distance of 1.6–2.2 AU once every 2 years and 8 months (963 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.17 and an inclination of 25° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] Based on assumption made by the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link, the body has a high albedo of 0.4, which is typical for E-type asteroids with a magnesium silicate surface (also see Enstatite chondrite).
Observations performed at the Palmer Divide Observatory (716) in Colorado Springs, Colorado, during 2007 produced a lightcurve with a period of 3.8492 hours and a brightness range of 0.20 in magnitude.[7] Two more recent observations confirmed the 3.85-hour period.[5][6]
Naming
This minor planet was named after Kenos, the first man in the Selknam mythology of the Native Americans of Tierra del Fuego, sent by the Supreme Being to bring order into the world. He created the human race by using peat to make male and female organs, taught them language and instructed them in rules to fashion a harmonious society.[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 6 February 1993 (M.P.C. 21606).[11]
