(154276) 2002 SY₅₀

(154276) 2002 SY₅₀, provisional designation 2002 SY₅₀, is a stony asteroid on a highly eccentric orbit, classified as near-Earth object and potentially hazardous asteroid of the Apollo group, approximately 1.1 kilometers (0.7 miles) in diameter. It was discovered on 30 September 2002, by astronomers with the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research at the Lincoln Laboratory's Experimental Test Site near Socorro, New Mexico, in the United States.^[1] The K-type asteroid has a rotation period of 4.8 hours.^[3][a] It will make a close encounter with Earth on 30 October 2071.^[6]

Orbit and classification

2002 SY₅₀ is a member of the Earth-crossing group of Apollo asteroids, the largest group of near-Earth objects with approximately 10 thousand known members.^[1][2]

It orbits the Sun at a distance of 0.53–2.88 AU once every 2 years and 3 months (813 days; semi-major axis of 1.7 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.69 and an inclination of 9° with respect to the ecliptic.^[2] Due to its large aphelion of 2.88 AU, it also crosses the orbit of Mars at 1.66 AU.^[2] The body's observation arc begins one month prior to its official discovery observation with its first observation by the NEAT program at Palomar Observatory in August 2002.^[1]

Close approaches

The asteroid has an Earth minimum orbital intersection distance of 0.0027 AU (404,000 km; 251,000 mi), which corresponds to 1.05 lunar distances and makes it a potentially hazardous asteroid due to its sufficiently large size.^[2]

In November 1933, it approached Earth at a nominal distance of 0.098 AU (38 LD), and in November 2002 at 0.084 AU (33 LD). Its closest near-Earth encounter is predicted to occur on 30 October 2071, at a distance of 0.0088 AU (3.4 LD) only (see table).^[6]

Physical characteristics

Photometry by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey has characterized 2002 SY₅₀ as an uncommon K-type asteroid,^[5] which is typically seen among members of the Eos family in the asteroid belt.^[7]: 23

Rotation period

In October 2002, a rotational lightcurve of this asteroid was obtained from photometric observations by Italian astronomer Gianluca Masi at the Campo Catino Astronomical Observatory (468). Lightcurve analysis gave a well-defined rotation period of 4.823 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.52 magnitude (U=3).^[a]

Diameter and albedo

According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, this asteroid measures 1.06 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.14,^[4] while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 0.897 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 17.6.^[3]

Numbering and naming

This minor planet was numbered by the Minor Planet Center on 2 April 2007 (M.P.C. 59337).^[8] As of 2018, it has not been named.^[1]

Notes

References

External links

• List of the Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs), Minor Planet Center
• PHA Close Approaches To The Earth, Minor Planet Center
• Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB), query form (info Archived 16 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine)
• Asteroids and comets rotation curves, CdR – Observatoire de Genève, Raoul Behrend
• (154276) 2002 SY50 at NeoDyS-2, Near Earth Objects—Dynamic Site
  • Ephemerides · Observation prediction · Orbital info · MOID · Proper elements · Observational info · Close approaches · Physical info · Orbit animation
• (154276) 2002 SY50 at ESA–space situational awareness
  • Ephemerides · Observations · Orbit · Physical properties · Summary
• (154276) 2002 SY50 at the JPL Small-Body Database
  • Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit diagram · Orbital elements · Physical parameters

This page was last edited on 27 November 2023, at 19:14