(179806) 2002 TD66
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | LINEAR (704) |
| Discovery date | October 5, 2002 |
| Designations | |
| Apollo | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch 2011-Aug-27 (JD 2455800.5) JPL 56 |
|
| Aphelion | 2.8499 AU |
| Perihelion | 0.86573 AU |
| 1.8578 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.53400 |
| 2.53 years | |
| 152.36° (M) | |
| Inclination | 4.9197° |
| 335.76° | |
| 125.59° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 300 meters[1] 270–590 meters H |
| 9.455 hr[1][2] | |
| 20.2[2] | |
(179806) 2002 TD66 (also written 2002 TD66) is a near-Earth asteroid, discovered on October 5, 2002, by the LINEAR project.[2] It was announced on October 7, 2002, and appeared later that day on the JPL current risk page.
Due to the proximity of its orbit to Earth and its estimated size, this object has been classified as a potentially hazardous asteroid (PHA) by the Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In November 2006 there were 823 PHAs known. As of October 2011[update], there are 1261 PHAs known.[3] 2002 TD66 was removed from the Sentry Risk Table on October 10, 2002.[4] A Doppler observation[2] has helped produce a well known trajectory with a condition code (Uncertainty Parameter U) of 0.[2]
Based on an absolute magnitude (H) of 20.2,[2] the asteroid is estimated to be between 270 and 590 meters in diameter. Radar astronomy shows it is a contact binary asteroid with a diameter of 300 meters and a rotation period of 9.5 hours.[1]
On February 26, 2008, 2002 TD66 passed 0.04282 AU (6,406,000 km; 3,980,000 mi) from Earth.[5] The asteroid also comes close to Venus, Mars, and dwarf planet Ceres.[5]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
- Lightcurve for TD66 in 2008 from The Palmer Divide Observatory
- Discovery Circumstances
- Sormano Astronomical Observatory: Minor Body Priority List
- Minimum Orbital Intersection Distance
- Closest Approaches to the Earth by Minor Planets
- Orbital simulation from JPL (Java)
- GIF of 2002 TD66 on February 25th, 2008 (0.04AU from Earth)
