In December 2005, a rotational lightcurve of Levasseur was obtained from photometric observations by Donald Pray at the Carbuncle Hill Observatory (912) in collaboration with other European and American observers. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of 2.6529±0.0003 hours with a brightness variation of 0.14±0.02magnitude (U=3).[6][a]
In April 2010, two nearly identical periods were found by David Higgins at the Hunters Hill Observatory (E14) in Australia and by Petr Pravec and collaborators at the Ondřejov Observatory in the Czech Republic. Their analysis gave a period of 2.6528±0.0004 and 2.6531±0.0002 hours with an amplitude of 0.13 and 0.09, respectively (U=2/3).[10][a][b] While not being a fast rotator, Levasseur's rotation is near the cohesionless spin-barrier of 2.2 hours.
Diameter and albedo
According to a dedicated survey of Mars-crossing asteroids carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Levasseur measures 5.68 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.239.[5] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard for a stony asteroid of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 6.21 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 13.4.[3]
^ abcLightcurve plots of (6170) Levasseur: Dec 2005 by Pray and Pravec, May 2010, David Higgins, Kusnirak, Pravec, and Feb 2017, Sugerloaf Mountain, Higgins and Pravec, from Ondrejov data obtained by the NEO Photometric Program and collaborating projects. Summary figures for (6170) Levasseur at the LCDB.
^Pravec (April 2010) web: rotation period 2.6531±0.0002 hours with an amplitude of 0.09±0.01 mag. Quality Code is 3. Summary figures at the LCDB and Pravec, P.; Wolf, M.; Sarounova, L. (2010).
^Higgins, David (January 2011). "Period Determination of Asteroid Targets Observed at Hunters Hill Observatory: May 2009 - September 2010". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 38 (1): 41–46. Bibcode:2011MPBu...38...41H. ISSN1052-8091.