Photometric Observations and Data Analysis of NEA Binary Asteroid 5143 Heracles

Analysis of CCD photometric observations of the known binary asteroid 5143 Heracles (Taylor et al., 2012) was conducted at the Center for Solar System Studies based on observations obtained in 2021 October and November. A secure period of P1 = 2.70776 ± 0.00006 h was established for the rotation of the primary. The secondary period is ambiguous and depends on whether or not the rotation of the secondary is locked to its orbital period. Our analysis favors an independently rotating secondary with P2 = 46.41 h.