Astronomy:(276033) 2002 AJ129

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(276033) 2002 AJ129
2002 AJ129-orbit (multilingual).svg
The orbit is highly elliptical, moving outside Mars and inside Mercury. Positions shown for 31 January 2018 before flyby.
Discovery[1][2]
Discovered byNEAT
Discovery siteHaleakala Obs.
Discovery date15 January 2002
Designations
(276033) 2002 AJ129
2002 AJ129
Minor planet category
Orbital characteristics[3][4]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc14.23 yr (5,199 days)
|{{{apsis}}}|helion}}2.6254 AU
|{{{apsis}}}|helion}}0.1167 AU
1.3711 AU
Eccentricity0.9149
Orbital period1.61 yr (586 days)
Mean anomaly288.23°
Mean motion0° 36m 50.04s / day
Inclination15.449°
Longitude of ascending node138.05°
211.01°
Earth MOID0.0060 AU (2.3 LD)
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter0.5–1.2 km[5]
Absolute magnitude (H)18.7[3]


(276033) 2002 AJ129, provisional designation 2002 AJ129, is a Mercury-crossing asteroid. It has the ninth-smallest perihelion of all numbered asteroids, after asteroids such as 2000 BD19, 2004 UL, and 2008 XM.[6] It makes close approaches to all of the inner planets[3] and asteroid 4 Vesta.[7] The asteroid is estimated to be between 0.5–1.2 kilometers (0.3–0.7 mi) across.[5] In January 2018 there was much media hype about this asteroid being classified as a potentially hazardous asteroid, although there is no known threat of an impact for hundreds if not thousands of years. The media has compared the size of the asteroid to the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.[8]

Description

2002 AJ129 was discovered on 15 January 2002 by astronomers of the NEAT team at Haleakala Observatory, Hawaii, United States.[1][2] It was removed from the Sentry Risk Table on 3 February 2002.[9]

It is a Mercury-, Venus-, Earth- and Mars-crossing asteroid. With an observation arc of 14 years, it has a well determined orbit and was last observed in 2016.[3] It is classified as an Apollo asteroid[3] because it is a near-Earth asteroid with a semi-major axis larger than Earth's. It is also categorized as a potentially hazardous asteroid,[3] but that does not mean there is a near-term threat of an impact. It is a potentially hazardous asteroid merely as a result of its size (absolute magnitude H ≤ 22) and Earth minimum orbit intersection distance (Earth MOID ≤ 0.05 AU).

2018 approach

On 4 February 2018 at 21:31 UT, the asteroid passed about 0.028126 AU (4,207,600 km; 2,614,500 mi) from Earth.[3][10] The 2018 Earth approach distance was known with a 3-sigma accuracy of ±200 km.[3] Goldstone is scheduled to observe the asteroid from 3 to 6 February.[11] By 4 February 2018 11:00 UT, the asteroid brightened to apparent magnitude 14 and had a solar elongation of more than 100°.[12]

2172 approach

On 8 February 2172, the asteroid will pass about 0.00458 AU (685,000 km; 426,000 mi) from Earth.[3] The 2172 Earth approach distance is known with a 3-sigma accuracy of ±4000 km.

As we look even further into the future the known trajectory becomes more divergent. By the Earth approach of 0.24 AU (36,000,000 km; 22,000,000 mi) on 19 February 2196 the uncertainty increases to ±2.4 million km.[3]


References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "MPEC 2002-B14 : 2002 AJ129". IAU Minor Planet Center. 2002-01-19. https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/mpec/K02/K02B14.html. Retrieved 2018-01-19.  (K02AC9J)
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "276033 (2002 AJ129)". Minor Planet Center. https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=276033. Retrieved 8 February 2018. 
  3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 276033 (2002 AJ129)". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Archived from the original on January 18, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180118221442/https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=2002AJ129;cad=1. Retrieved 8 February 2018. 
  4. ↑ AstDys-2 Retrieved 2011 September 13
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 NeoDys-2 Retrieved 2011 September 13
  6. ↑ List of asteroids with q<0.3075 AU generated by the JPL Small-Body Database Search Engine Retrieved 2011 September 10
  7. ↑ NEODyS-2 Close approaches
  8. ↑ "A 'potentially hazardous' asteroid bigger than Burj Khalifa is about to fly near our planet". Business Insider. http://www.businessinsider.com/potentially-dangerous-near-earth-object-asteroid-2002-aj129-2018-1. Retrieved January 19, 2018. 
  9. ↑ "NEOs Removed from Impact Risks Tables". http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/risk/removed.html. 
  10. ↑ "Asteroid 2002 AJ129 to Fly Safely Past Earth February 4 [2018"]. NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. 19 January 2018. https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7042. Retrieved 8 February 2018. 
  11. ↑ Dr. Lance A. M. Benner (2018-02-01). "Goldstone Radar Observations Planning: Asteroids 2002 AJ129, 2014 SR339, and 2015 BN509". NASA/JPL Asteroid Radar Research. https://echo.jpl.nasa.gov/asteroids/2002AJ129/2002AJ129_planning.2018.html. Retrieved 2018-02-03. 
  12. ↑ "(276033) 2002AJ129 Ephemerides for February 2018". NEODyS (Near Earth Objects – Dynamic Site). https://newton.spacedys.com/neodys2/index.php?pc=1.1.3.1&n=276033&oc=500&y0=2018&m0=2&d0=1&h0=0&mi0=0&y1=2018&m1=2&d1=10&h1=0&mi1=0&ti=12.0&tiu=hours. Retrieved 2018-02-03. 

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