It was discovered on 12 January 1983, by American astronomer Brian Skiff at Lowell's Anderson Mesa Station in Flagstaff, Arizona.
[8] A rotational lightcurve of Schwaar was obtained from photometric observations made at the Hunters Hill Observatory (E14), Australia, and collaborating stations in December 2006.
[7] According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's space-based Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Schwaar measures 5.3 and 5.9 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.182 and 0.185, respectively,[6][5] while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for members of the Phocaea family of 0.23, and calculates a diameter of 5.0 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 13.7.
[3] This minor planet was named in memory amateur astronomer Pierre–Yves Schwaar (1946–2000), member of the Saguaro Astronomy Club (SAC), telescope maker, and photographer of the night sky.
[10] The native Swiss amateur astronomer and immigrant to the U.S. was also an inventor and master craftsman, a model rocketeer, an USAF aircraft mechanic, a Vietnam veteran, and an eclipse chaser.