It was discovered on 5 June 1994, by American astronomer-couple Carolyn and Eugene Shoemaker at the Palomar Observatory in California, United States.
[2] Leakey is a member of the Hungaria family, which form the innermost dense concentration of asteroids in the Solar System.
Lightcurve analysis gave a concurring and well-defined rotation period of 2.35 hours with a brightness variation between 0.19 and 0.22 magnitude (U=3/3/3-).
[4] The 2012-photometric lightcurve observation also revealed, that Leakey is a synchronous binary asteroid with a minor-planet moon orbiting it every 50.24 hours.
Based on only two observations at the Palmer Divide Observatory (716), it is tentatively estimated that the size-ratio of the binary system is 0.3±0.03, which would give a 1-kilometer diameter for the satellite.