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Designations
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| Minor planet category |
Apollo |
| Aphelion | 1.356 AU |
| Perihelion | 0.897 AU |
| Semi-major axis | 1.126 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.204 |
| Orbital period | 436.604 d (1.20 a) |
| Mean anomaly | 193.420° |
| Inclination | 6.035° |
| Longitude of ascending node | 2.068° |
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Physical characteristics
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| Dimensions | ~510 m |
(101955) 1999 RQ36 is the minor planet designation of an Apollo asteroid discovered by LINEAR in 1999. It has a mean diameter of approximately 510 meters, and has been observed extensively with the Arecibo Observatory Planetary Radar and the Goldstone Deep Space Network ([1][2][3], see also radar astronomy).
A recent dynamical study by Andrea Milani and collaborators has located a series of potential Earth impacts between 2169 and 2199. The probability of impact is dependent on poorly known physical properties of the object, but is not higher than 0.07% [4]. To accurately assess RQ36's probability of Earth impact will require a detailed shape model of the asteroid and at least several more years of radar and optical observations to determine the magnitude of the Yarkovsky acceleration.
Separately, RQ36 has been considered multiple times as the target of spacecraft missions, including OSIRIS, due to the low delta-v required to reach it from Earth orbit.
References
External links
- Impact risk and orbital information - JPL near-Earth object website
- Orbit parameters - NASA website
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
