Astronomy:2009 VA
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Catalina Sky Survey |
| Discovery date | 6 November 2009 |
| Designations | |
| none | |
| Minor planet category | Apollo (NEO) |
| Orbital characteristics[2] | |
| Epoch 6 November 2009 (JD 2455141.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 9 | |
| Observation arc | 3 hours[1] |
| |{{{apsis}}}|helion}} | 1.93 AU |
| |{{{apsis}}}|helion}} | 0.9177 AU |
| 1.43 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.357 |
| Orbital period | 1.71 yr |
| Mean anomaly | 339° |
| Mean motion | 0° 34m 39.396s /day |
| Inclination | 7.5° |
| Longitude of ascending node | 224.5° |
| 224° | |
| Earth MOID | 0.00013 AU (19,000 km) |
| Jupiter MOID | 3.3 AU |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Mean diameter | ~6 meters[1] |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 28.6 |
2009 VA is an asteroid that came within 14,000 kilometres (8,700 mi) of Earth on 6 November 2009 making it the third closest non-impacting approach of a cataloged asteroid.[3]
With a diameter of only 7 metres (23 ft), scientists think that even if it had been on a direct collision course with Earth, it would have likely burned up in the atmosphere.[4] The space rock made its pass by Earth just fifteen hours after its discovery.[5]
The asteroid was first discovered by the Catalina Sky Survey at the University of Arizona. It was determined that the object would make a pass well within the orbit of the Moon, but would not strike Earth. The object passed so close to Earth that its orbit was modified by Earth's gravity.[5]
2025 virtual impactor
The asteroid only has a very short observation arc of 3 hours and has not been observed since 2009 (16 years ago).[1] Given the short arc, long term predictions of the asteroids position over many years are poorly constrained. It is listed on the Sentry Risk Table with a 1 in 48,000 chance of an Earth impact on 6 November 2025.[1]
| JPL Horizons nominal geocentric distance (AU) |
uncertainty region (3-sigma) |
|---|---|
| 0.3 astronomical unit|AU (45,000,000 km; 120 LD)[6] | ± 900 million km[6] |
See also
- 2008 TC3
- 2010 RF12, 2010 RX30, 2010 TD54 - a similar-sized asteroids that passed Earth in 2010
- List of notable asteroids#Record-setting close approaches to Earth for other, closer approaches
- List of asteroid close approaches to Earth in 2009
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "(2009 VA) – Earth Impact Risk Summary". Center for Near-Earth Object Studies. NASA. 2022-08-28. https://cneos.jpl.nasa.gov/sentry/details.html#?des=2009%20VA.
- ↑ "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2009 VA)". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/tools/sbdb_lookup.html#/?sstr=2009VA&view=OPC.
- ↑ "Small Asteroid 2009 VA Whizzes By Earth". Science Daily. Archived from the original on 15 November 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20091115062607/https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091110173330.htm. Retrieved 2009-11-11.
- ↑ Small Asteroid Spotted Flying Close To Earth , redorbit.com, 11 November 2009
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Alan Boyle. "Space rock buzzes past Earth". MSNBC. Archived from the original on 14 November 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20091114094829/http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/11/11/2124702.aspx. Retrieved 2009-11-11.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Horizons Batch for 2025-11-06 Virtual Impactor". JPL Horizons. https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/horizons_batch.cgi?batch=1&COMMAND=%272009+VA%27&START_TIME=%272025-11-06%27&STOP_TIME=%272025-11-07%27&STEP_SIZE=%272%20day%27&QUANTITIES=%2720,39%27. Retrieved 2025-02-07. RNG_3sigma = uncertainty range in km. (JPL#7/Soln.date: 2021-Apr-15 generates RNG_3sigma = 934114563 km for 2025-Nov-06.)
External links
- Small Asteroid 2009 VA Whizzes By The Earth
- 2009 VA at NeoDyS-2, Near Earth Objects—Dynamic Site
- Ephemeris · Obs prediction · Orbital info · MOID · Proper elements · Obs info · Close · Physical info · NEOCC
- 2009 VA at ESA–space situational awareness
- 2009 VA at the JPL Small-Body Database
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