Discovery [1] | |
---|---|
Discovered by | NEAT |
Discovery site | Palomar Obs. |
Discovery date | 13 November 2002 |
Designations | |
(90075) 2002 VU94 | |
2002 VU94 | |
Apollo · NEO · PHA [1] [2] | |
Orbital characteristics [1] | |
Epoch 4 September 2017 ( JD 2458000.5) | |
Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
Observation arc | 62.16 yr (22,704 days) |
Aphelion | 3.3631 AU |
Perihelion | 0.9045 AU |
2.1338 AU | |
Eccentricity | 0.5761 |
3.12 yr (1,138 days) | |
26.512 ° | |
0° 18m 58.32s / day | |
Inclination | 8.9155° |
226.78° | |
30.617° | |
Earth MOID | 0.0301 AU · 11.7 LD |
Physical characteristics | |
Dimensions | 2.233±0.084 km
[3] 2.59 km (calculated) [4] |
7.878±0.002 h
[5] 7.879±0.002 h [a] 7.88±0.01 h [6] 7.90±0.01 h [7] | |
0.20 (assumed)
[4] 0.294±0.040 [3] | |
S (assumed) [4] | |
15.2 [3] · 15.3 [1] [4] | |
(90075) 2002 VU94 ( provisional designation 2002 VU94) is an asteroid on an eccentric orbit, classified as near-Earth object and potentially hazardous asteroid of the Apollo group, approximately 2.5 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 13 November 2002, by astronomers of the Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking program at Palomar Observatory in California, United States. [2] It is one of the largest potentially hazardous asteroids known. [8]
2002 VU94 is a member of the dynamical Apollo group, [1] [2] which are Earth-crossing asteroids. Apollo asteroids are the largest subgroup of near-Earth objects. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 0.9–3.4 AU once every 3 years and 1 month (1,138 days; semi-major axis of 2.13 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.58 and an inclination of 9 ° with respect to the ecliptic. [1]
The body's observation arc begins with a precovery from the Digitized Sky Survey taken at the Palomar Observatory in October 1955, or 47 years prior to its official discovery observation. [2]
With an absolute magnitude of 15.3, 2002 VU94 is one of the brightest and largest known potentially hazardous asteroid (see PHA-list). [8] It has an Earth minimum orbital intersection distance of 0.0301 AU (4,500,000 km), which translates into 11.7 lunar distances. [1] On 18 May 2092, the body will make its closest near-Earth encounter at a nominal distance of 0.095 AU (37 LD). [1] The asteroid is also Mars-crosser, crossing the orbit of the Red Planet at 1.66 AU.
2002 VU94 is an assumed, stony S-type asteroid. [4]
In 2014 and 2017, several rotational lightcurves [b] of 2002 VU94 were obtained from photometric observations by American astronomer Brian Warner at the Palmer Divide Station ( U82) in California. [5] [6] [7] [a] Lightcurve analysis gave a consolidated rotation period of 7.879 hours with a brightness amplitude between 0.31 and 0.64 magnitude ( U=3-). [4] [a]
In 2017, Warner also modeled the photometric data and determined a sidereal period of 7.878512 hours, as well as a spin axis of (73.0°, −50.0°) in ecliptic coordinates (λ, β). [4]
According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, 2002 VU94 measures 2.233 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.294, [3] while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20, and calculates a diameter of 2.59 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 15.3. [4]
This minor planet was numbered by the Minor Planet Center on 30 August 2004. [9] As of 2018, it has not been named. [2]
Discovery [1] | |
---|---|
Discovered by | NEAT |
Discovery site | Palomar Obs. |
Discovery date | 13 November 2002 |
Designations | |
(90075) 2002 VU94 | |
2002 VU94 | |
Apollo · NEO · PHA [1] [2] | |
Orbital characteristics [1] | |
Epoch 4 September 2017 ( JD 2458000.5) | |
Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
Observation arc | 62.16 yr (22,704 days) |
Aphelion | 3.3631 AU |
Perihelion | 0.9045 AU |
2.1338 AU | |
Eccentricity | 0.5761 |
3.12 yr (1,138 days) | |
26.512 ° | |
0° 18m 58.32s / day | |
Inclination | 8.9155° |
226.78° | |
30.617° | |
Earth MOID | 0.0301 AU · 11.7 LD |
Physical characteristics | |
Dimensions | 2.233±0.084 km
[3] 2.59 km (calculated) [4] |
7.878±0.002 h
[5] 7.879±0.002 h [a] 7.88±0.01 h [6] 7.90±0.01 h [7] | |
0.20 (assumed)
[4] 0.294±0.040 [3] | |
S (assumed) [4] | |
15.2 [3] · 15.3 [1] [4] | |
(90075) 2002 VU94 ( provisional designation 2002 VU94) is an asteroid on an eccentric orbit, classified as near-Earth object and potentially hazardous asteroid of the Apollo group, approximately 2.5 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 13 November 2002, by astronomers of the Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking program at Palomar Observatory in California, United States. [2] It is one of the largest potentially hazardous asteroids known. [8]
2002 VU94 is a member of the dynamical Apollo group, [1] [2] which are Earth-crossing asteroids. Apollo asteroids are the largest subgroup of near-Earth objects. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 0.9–3.4 AU once every 3 years and 1 month (1,138 days; semi-major axis of 2.13 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.58 and an inclination of 9 ° with respect to the ecliptic. [1]
The body's observation arc begins with a precovery from the Digitized Sky Survey taken at the Palomar Observatory in October 1955, or 47 years prior to its official discovery observation. [2]
With an absolute magnitude of 15.3, 2002 VU94 is one of the brightest and largest known potentially hazardous asteroid (see PHA-list). [8] It has an Earth minimum orbital intersection distance of 0.0301 AU (4,500,000 km), which translates into 11.7 lunar distances. [1] On 18 May 2092, the body will make its closest near-Earth encounter at a nominal distance of 0.095 AU (37 LD). [1] The asteroid is also Mars-crosser, crossing the orbit of the Red Planet at 1.66 AU.
2002 VU94 is an assumed, stony S-type asteroid. [4]
In 2014 and 2017, several rotational lightcurves [b] of 2002 VU94 were obtained from photometric observations by American astronomer Brian Warner at the Palmer Divide Station ( U82) in California. [5] [6] [7] [a] Lightcurve analysis gave a consolidated rotation period of 7.879 hours with a brightness amplitude between 0.31 and 0.64 magnitude ( U=3-). [4] [a]
In 2017, Warner also modeled the photometric data and determined a sidereal period of 7.878512 hours, as well as a spin axis of (73.0°, −50.0°) in ecliptic coordinates (λ, β). [4]
According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, 2002 VU94 measures 2.233 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.294, [3] while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20, and calculates a diameter of 2.59 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 15.3. [4]
This minor planet was numbered by the Minor Planet Center on 30 August 2004. [9] As of 2018, it has not been named. [2]