2003 YN107
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | LINEAR |
| Discovery date | December 20, 2003 |
| Designations | |
| Aten | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch April 18, 2013 (JD 2456400.5) | |
| Aphelion | 152.300 Gm (1.00249947 AU) |
| Perihelion | 146.125 Gm (0.9749381 AU) |
| 149.212 Gm (0.98871878 AU) | |
| Eccentricity | 0.0139379 |
| 359.09355 d (0.98 a) | |
|
Average orbital speed
|
29.82 km/s |
| 254.3422° | |
| Inclination | 4.32108° |
| 264.43161° | |
| 87.51670° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 10–30 m |
| Mass | ~1–28×106 kg |
| ~3–8×10−6 m/s² | |
| ~5–16×10−6 km/s | |
| Temperature | ~279 K |
| 26.3[1] | |
2003 YN107, also written 2003 YN107, is a very small near-Earth object moving in a 1:1 mean-motion resonance with Earth. As such it is co-orbital to Earth.[2][3][4]
Contents
Discovery, orbit and physical properties
It was discovered by the Lincoln Near Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) system in orbit around the Sun on December 20, 2003. Its diameter is approximately 10 to 30 metres. 2003 YN107 is on NASA's Earth Close Approach list, and is estimated to miss Earth by 0.01 AU. It revolves around the Sun on an Earth-like, almost circular, orbit. Its orbital period of 363.846 days also is very close to the sidereal year.
Co-orbital with Earth and orbital evolution
From approximately 1997 to 2006, the asteroid remained within 0.1 AU (15,000,000 km; 9,300,000 mi)) of Earth and it appeared to slowly orbit Earth.[2] However, 2003 YN107 is no second moon, as it is not bound to Earth. It is the first discovered member of a postulated group of coorbital objects, or quasi-satellites, which show these path characteristics.[2][3] Other members of this group include 10563 Izhdubar, 54509 YORP, (66063) 1998 RO1, (85770) 1998 UP1, and (85990) 1999 JV6. Before 1996, the asteroid had been on a so-called horseshoe orbit around the Sun, along the Earth's orbit. After 2006, it had regained such an orbit. This makes it very similar to 2002 AA29, which will become a quasi-satellite of Earth in approximately 600 years.[2][3][4]
See also
- 2002 AA29—near-Earth asteroid
- 6Q0B44E
- 2006 RH120
- Natural satellite
- Quasi-satellite
- Arjuna asteroid
- 3753 Cruithne
- 2001 GO2
- 2006 JY26
- 2009 SH2
- 2010 SO16
- 2012 FC71
- 2013 BS45
References
External links
- MPEC 2003-Y76 : 2003 YN107 (Discovery MPEC)
- NASA's Near-Earth Object close approach tables
- NEODyS' information on 2003 YN107
- Corkscrew Asteroid, Dr. Tony Phillips, Science@NASA, June 9, 2006.
- Horseshoe asteroids and quasi-satellites in Earth-like orbits
