Astronomy:(524522) 2002 VE68

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Short description: Temporary quasi-satellite of Venus


(524522) 2002 VE68
Animation of 2002 VE68's orbit - rotating frame.gif
Animation of 2002 VE68's orbit from 1600 to 2500 - relative to Sun and Venus
  •   Sun
  •   Venus
  •   2002 VE68
Discovery[1]
Discovered byLONEOS
Discovery siteAnderson Mesa Stn.
Discovery date11 November 2002
Designations
(524522) 2002 VE68
2002 VE68
Minor planet category
Orbital characteristics[2]
Epoch 5 September 2014 (JD 2456905.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc16.06 yr (5,866 d)
|{{{apsis}}}|helion}}1.0206 AU
|{{{apsis}}}|helion}}0.4268 AU
0.7237 AU
Eccentricity0.4103
Orbital period225 days
Mean anomaly251.64°
Mean motion1° 36m 3.6s / day
Inclination9.0060°
Longitude of ascending node231.58°
355.45°
Earth MOID0.027 AU (10.44 LD)
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter236 m (calculated)[3]
Rotation period13.50±0.01 h[3][4]
Geometric albedo0.20 (assumed)[3]
  • X[4]
  • B–V = 0.690±0.041[4]
  • V–R = 0.404±0.037[4]
  • V–I = 0.751±0.039[4]
Absolute magnitude (H)


(524522) 2002 VE68, provisional designation 2002 VE68, is a sub-kilometer sized asteroid and temporary quasi-satellite of Venus.[5] Discovered in 2002, it was the first such object to be discovered around a major planet in the Solar System. In a frame of reference rotating with Venus, it appears to travel around it during one Venerean year, but it orbits the Sun, not Venus.[6]

Discovery, orbit and physical properties

It was discovered on 11 November 2002 at Lowell Observatory. As of February 2013, 2002 VE68 has been observed telescopically 457 times with a data-arc span of 2,947 days, and it was the target of Doppler observations on five occasions; therefore, its orbit is very well determined. Its semi-major axis of 0.7237 AU is very similar to that of Venus, but its eccentricity is relatively large (0.4104), and its orbital inclination is also significant (9.0060°). The spectrum of 2002 VE68 implies that it is an X-type asteroid and hence an albedo of about 0.25 should be assumed.[7] The body is calculated to measure 236 meters in diameter. Its rotational period is 13.5 hours, and its light curve has an amplitude of 0.9 mag, which hints at a very elongated body, perhaps a contact binary.[7]

Quasi-satellite dynamical state and orbital evolution

The existence of retrograde satellites or quasi-satellites was first considered by J. Jackson in 1913[8] but none was discovered until almost 100 years later.[6] 2002 VE68 was the first quasi-satellite to be discovered, in 2002, although it was not immediately recognized as such. 2002 VE68 was identified as a quasi-satellite of Venus by Seppo Mikkola, Ramon Brasser, Paul A. Wiegert and Kimmo Innanen in 2004, two years after the actual discovery of the object.[5][6] From the perspective of a hypothetical observer in a frame of reference rotating with Venus, it appears to travel around the planet during one Venusian year. However, it does not orbit Venus but the Sun like any other asteroid. As a quasi-satellite, this minor body is trapped in a 1:1 mean-motion resonance with Venus. Besides being a Venus co-orbital, this Aten asteroid is also a Mercury grazer and an Earth crosser. 2002 VE68 exhibits resonant (or near-resonant) behavior with Mercury, Venus and Earth.[9][10] It seems to have been co-orbital with Venus for only the last 7,000 years, and is destined to be ejected from this orbital arrangement about 500 years from now.[6] During this time, its distance to Venus has been and will remain larger than about 0.2 AU (3·107 km).

Potentially hazardous asteroid

2002 VE68 is included in the Minor Planet Center list of Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs) because it comes relatively frequently to within 0.05 AU of Earth. Approaches as close as 0.04 AU occur with a periodicity of 8 years due to its near 8:13 resonance with Earth.[9] 2002 VE68 was discovered during the close approaches of 11 November 2002. During the last close encounter on 7 November 2010, 2002 VE68 approached Earth within 0.035 AU (13.6 Lunar distances), brightening below 15th magnitude. Its next fly-by with Earth happened on 4 November 2018 at 0.038 AU (5,700,000 km; 3,500,000 mi).[11] Numerical simulations indicate that an actual collision with Earth during the next 10,000 years is not likely, although dangerously close approaches to about 0.002 AU are possible, a distance potentially within Earth's Hill sphere.[9]

Numbering and naming

This minor planet was numbered by the Minor Planet Center on 18 May 2019 (M.P.C. 114620).[12] As of 2020, it has not officially been named.[1]

In popular culture

On 26 January 2024, Radiolab aired an episode about the asteroid, which co-host Latif Nasser first noticed on his child's solar system poster, where it was referred to as Zoozve, derived from the artist misreading 2002VE. This led to a submission to officially name the asteroid, which is currently under review.[13]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "2002 VE68". Minor Planet Center. https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=2002+VE68. Retrieved 29 May 2019. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2002 VE68)". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=2524522. Retrieved 29 May 2019. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "LCDB Data for (2002+VE68)". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). http://www.minorplanet.info/PHP/generateOneAsteroidInfo.php?AstInfo=0%7C2002+VE68. Retrieved 29 May 2019. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Hicks, M.; Mayes, D.; Barajas, T. (December 2010). "Broadband photometry of 2002 VE68, a quasi-moon of Venus.". The Astronomer's Telegram 3073 (3073): 1. Bibcode: 2010ATel.3073....1H. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Discovery of the first quasi-satellite of Venus". Tuorla Observatory. 17 August 2004. https://www.astro.utu.fi/tuorla/new/venusqs.shtml. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Mikkola, S.; Brasser, R.; Wiegert, P.; Innanen, K. (2004). "Asteroid 2002 VE68, a quasi-satellite of Venus". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 351 (3): L63–L65. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2004.07994.x. Bibcode: 2004MNRAS.351L..63M. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2004MNRAS.351L..63M?high=40daf3f6f900097&db_key=AST. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Physical characterization of 2002 VE68, a quasi-moon of Venus". http://www.lacitycollege.edu/academic/departments/physics/cure/reports/BarajasT_Sp2011_Report.pdf. 
  8. ↑ Jackson, J. (1913). "Retrograde satellite orbits". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 74 (2): 62. doi:10.1093/mnras/74.2.62. Bibcode: 1913MNRAS..74...62J. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1913MNRAS..74...62J. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 de la Fuente Marcos, C.; de la Fuente Marcos, R. (2012). "On the dynamical evolution of 2002 VE68". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 427 (1): 728. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2012.21936.x. Bibcode: 2012MNRAS.427..728D. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012MNRAS.427..728D. 
  10. ↑ de la Fuente Marcos, Carlos; de la Fuente Marcos, Raúl (2013). "Asteroid 2012 XE133, a transient companion to Venus". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 432 (2): 886–893. doi:10.1093/mnras/stt454. Bibcode: 2013MNRAS.432..886D. 
  11. ↑ "JPL Close-Approach Data: (2002 VE68)". https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=2002VE68;cad=1#cad. 
  12. ↑ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/ECS/MPCArchive/MPCArchive_TBL.html. Retrieved 29 May 2019. 
  13. ↑ Latif Nasser (26 January 2024). "Zoozve". radiolab.org (Podcast). WNYC Studios. Retrieved 26 January 2024.

Further reading

External links



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