(143649) 2003 QQ47

Last updated

(143649) 2003 QQ47
Discovery [1]
Discovered by LINEAR
Discovery site Lincoln Lab's ETS
Discovery date24 August 2003
Designations
Orbital characteristics [2]
Epoch 13 January 2016 (JD  2457400.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc 4285 days (11.73 yr)
Aphelion 1.28834  AU (192.733  Gm)
Perihelion 0.882430 AU (132.0096 Gm)
1.08538 AU (162.371 Gm)
Eccentricity 0.18699
1.13  yr (413.02  d)
Average orbital speed
28.34 km/s
264.755°
0° 52m 17.846s / day
Inclination 62.1021°
0.997990°
104.999°
Known satellites S/2021 (143649) 1 [3]
Earth  MOID 0.00253637 AU (379,436 km)
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter
  • 0.995±0.42  km (system) [3]
  • 0.94±0.40 km (primary) [3]
  • 0.31±0.13 km (secondary) [3]
Mass 2.0×1012 kg
2.6446±0.0007  h [3]
17.4 [2]

    (143649) 2003 QQ47, provisionally designated : 2003 QQ47, is a kilometer-sized asteroid and synchronous binary system, classified as near-Earth object and potentially hazardous asteroid of the Apollo group. It became briefly notable upon its discovery in late August 2003, when media outlets played up a very preliminary report that it had a 1 in 250,000 chance of impacting into Earth on 21 March 2014. [4] The discovery of a companion, approximately 310 meters (1,000 ft) in diameter, was announced in September 2021.

    Contents

    Description

    2003 QQ47 was discovered on 24 August 2003. [1] It was added to the Sentry Risk Table on 30 August 2003. [4] By 31 August 2003 (with an observation arc of 7 days) the odds of an impact on 21 March 2014 were already reduced to 1 in 1.7 million. [5] The asteroid was removed from the Sentry Risk Table on 14 September 2003, indicating there is no risk of an impact by it in the next 100 years. [6]

    2003 QQ47 safely passed within 0.1283  AU (19,190,000  km ; 11,930,000  mi ) of Earth on 26 March 2014. [2] [7] With an observation arc of 10 years and an orbital uncertainty of 0, its orbit and future close approaches are well-determined. [2]

    Preliminary reports

    On 3 September 2003 a NASA press release wrote,

    Newly discovered asteroid 2003 QQ47 has received considerable media attention over the last few days because it had a small chance of colliding with the Earth in the year 2014 and was rated a "1" on the Torino Impact Hazard Scale, which goes from 0 to 10. The odds of collision in 2014, as estimated by JPL's Sentry impact monitoring system, peaked at 1 chance in 250,000, a result which was posted on our Impact Risk Page on Saturday, August 30, 2003. Impact events at the Torino Scale 1 level certainly merit careful monitoring by astronomers, but these events do not warrant public concern. In fact, each year several newly discovered asteroids reach Torino Scale 1 for a brief period after discovery; 2003 QQ47 is the fourth such case this year.

    On September 2, 2003, new measurements of 2003 QQ47's position allowed us to narrow our prediction of its path in 2014, and thus we could rule out any Earth impact possibilities for 2014. [4]

    2003 QQ47 has a diameter of approximately 1.24 km, and a mass of approximately 2.0×1012 kg[ citation needed ]. If it were to hit the Earth, it would be a major event, with an energy of approximately 350,000 megatons of TNT (1.5  Z J), enough to cause global damage.

    Sara Russell, a meteorite researcher at London's Natural History Museum, told the BBC on 2 September 2003 that she was not worried that 2003 QQ47 would be a danger; "The odds are very, very low ... We have to keep some kind of perspective", she said. [8]

    As a result of the press coverage of asteroids such as 2003 QQ47, astronomers are now planning to re-word the Torino scale, or to phase it out completely in favour of a scale that is less likely to generate false alarms that may reduce public confidence in genuine alerts.

    Binary system

    A minor-planet moon, provisionally designated S/2021 (143649) 1, was first detected on 29 August 2021, by Petr Pravec, Peter Kušnirák, Kamil Hornoch, and others using photometric data from ESO's La Silla Observatory in Chile. [3] The discovery was announced on 17 September 2021. The secondary measures a third the size of its primary (Ds/Dp-ratio of 0.33), resulting in a mean-diameter of approximately 310 meters. It is estimated to be tidally locked, orbiting 1.4 kilometers (4,600 ft) from the primary every 13.065 hours. The primary has a rotation period of 2.6446±0.0007 hours and a derived diameter of 0.94±0.40 kilometers, for a resulting effective diameter (system) of 0.995±0.42 kilometers. [3]

    In fiction

    Related Research Articles

    The Torino scale is a method for categorizing the impact hazard associated with near-Earth objects (NEOs) such as asteroids and comets. It is intended as a communication tool for astronomers and the public to assess the seriousness of collision predictions, by combining probability statistics and known kinetic damage potentials into a single threat value. The Palermo Technical Impact Hazard Scale is a similar, but more complex scale. Near-Earth objects with a Torino scale of 1 are discovered several times a year, and may last a few weeks until they have a longer observation arc that eliminates any possibility of a collision. The highest rating ever assigned on the Torino Scale was given to the asteroid 99942 Apophis, which had a rating of 4 for four days in late 2004.

    (292220) 2006 SU49, provisional designation 2006 SU49, is a sub-kilometer asteroid, classified as near-Earth object and potentially hazardous asteroid of the Apollo group that had a small chance of impacting Earth in 2029.

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    <span class="nowrap">2007 VK<sub>184</sub></span>

    2007 VK184 is a sub-kilometer asteroid, classified as a near-Earth object of the Apollo group, and estimated to be approximately 130 meters (430 ft) in diameter. It was listed on the Sentry Risk Table with a Torino Scale rating of 1 for a potential impactor in June 2048. It was removed from the Sentry Risk Table on 28 March 2014.

    (332446) 2008 AF4 is a sub-kilometer asteroid, classified as near-Earth object and potentially hazardous asteroid of the Apollo group, which was listed on the Sentry Risk Table in January 2008 with a Torino Scale rating of 1. The asteroid showed a 1 in 71,000 chance of impact on 9 January 2089. It was briefly downgraded to Torino Scale 0 in February 2008, but still showed a cumulative 1 in 53,000 chance of an impact. In March it was back at Torino Scale 1 with a 1 in 28,000 chance of impact on 9 January 2089. By mid April 2008, it was back to Torino Scale 0. It was removed from the Sentry Risk Table on 19 December 2009.

    <span class="nowrap">(367789) 2011 AG<sub>5</sub></span> Near-Earth asteroid in 2040

    (367789) 2011 AG5, provisional designation 2011 AG5, is a sub-kilometer asteroid, classified as near-Earth object and potentially hazardous asteroid of the Apollo group. It has a diameter of about 140 meters (460 ft). It was removed from the Sentry Risk Table on 21 December 2012 and as such it now has a rating of 0 on the Torino Scale. It was recovered in December 2022 extending the observation arc from 4.8 years to 14 years. As of 2023, the distance between the orbits of Earth and 2011 AG5 is 0.0004 AU (60,000 km; 0.16 LD)

    (471240) 2011 BT15, provisional designation 2011 BT15, is a stony, sub-kilometer sized asteroid and fast rotator, classified as a near-Earth object and potentially hazardous asteroid of the Apollo group. It had been one of the objects with the highest impact threat on the Palermo Technical Impact Hazard Scale.

    2012 KP24 (also written 2012 KP24) is a Chelyabinsk-sized near-Earth asteroid with an observation arc of only 5 days and has a modestly determined orbit for an object of its size. Around 31 May 2023 ±3 days it will pass between 0.19–24 lunar distances (73,000–9,200,000 km) from Earth. Nominally the asteroid is expected to pass 0.026 AU (3,900,000 km; 10 LD) from Earth and brighten to around apparent magnitude 21.6.

    (454101) 2013 BP73, provisional designation 2013 BP73, is a sub-kilometer asteroid, classified as a near-Earth object and potentially hazardous asteroid of the Apollo group, approximately 310 meters (1,020 ft) in diameter.

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    2013 TV135 is an Apollo near-Earth asteroid estimated to have a diameter of 450 meters (1,480 ft). On 16 September 2013, it passed about 0.0448 AU (6,700,000 km; 4,160,000 mi) from Earth. On 20 September 2013, it came to perihelion (closest approach to the Sun). The asteroid was discovered on 12 October 2013 by Ukrainian amateur astronomer Gennadiy Borisov with a custom 0.2-meter (7.9 in) telescope using images dating back to 8 October 2013. It was rated level 1 on the Torino Scale from 16 October 2013 until JPL solution 26 on 3 November 2013. It reached a Palermo Technical Impact Hazard Scale rating of -0.73. It was removed from the JPL Sentry Risk Table on 8 November 2013 using JPL solution 32 with an observation arc of 27 days.

    2007 VE191 is a sub-kilometer asteroid, classified as near-Earth asteroid of the Apollo group that was listed on the Sentry Risk Table.

    2014 XL7 is a near-Earth object and Apollo asteroid, approximately 230 meters (750 feet) in diameter. It was the most dangerous potentially hazardous asteroid on Sentry Risk Table upon its discovery by the Mount Lemmon Survey in December 2014. At the time, the asteroid had a cumulative 1 in 83000 chance of impacting Earth on 4–5 June between the years 2048 and 2084. After the object's observation arc had been extended to 35 days, it was removed from the Sentry Risk Table on 15 January 2015. Since then the asteroid's orbit has been secured. Although it has an Earth minimum orbit intersection distance of less than one lunar distance, there are no projected close encounters with Earth in the foreseeable future, with its closest passage to occur in May 2046, still millions of kilometers away.

    (585310) 2017 YZ1, provisional designation: 2017 YZ1, is a sub-kilometer asteroid on an eccentric orbit, classified as near-Earth object and potentially hazardous asteroid of the Apollo group, approximately 250 meters (800 feet) in diameter. It was first observed on 20 December 2017, by astronomers with the Mount Lemmon Survey at Mount Lemmon Observatory near Tucson, Arizona, in the United States. On 29 January 2018, it passed Earth at 125 lunar distances.

    <span class="nowrap">2017 XO<sub>2</sub></span>

    2017 XO2, also written 2017 XO2, is a sub-kilometer asteroid and near-Earth object of the Apollo group approximately 110 meters (360 feet) in diameter. The asteroid was discovered by Pan-STARRS in December 2017, after it already had approached Earth at 0.051 AU (7,600,000 km) or 20 lunar distances (LD) on 6 November 2017. On 26 April 2057, it will pass Earth at a similar distance of 21 LD again.

    <span class="nowrap">2018 LF<sub>16</sub></span>

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    References

    1. 1 2 "MPEC 2003-Q46 : 2003 QQ47". IAU Minor Planet Center. 27 August 2003. Retrieved 12 February 2014. (K03Q47Q)
    2. 1 2 3 4 "JPL Close-Approach Data: 143649 (2003 QQ47)" (2006-04-27 last obs). Retrieved 7 April 2016.
    3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Johnston, Wm. Robert (25 September 2021). "Asteroids with Satellites Database – (143649) 2003 QQ47". Johnston's Archive. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
    4. 1 2 3 "Asteroid 2003 QQ47's Potential Earth Impact in 2014 Ruled Out". NASA/JPL Near-Earth Object Program Office. 3 September 2003. Archived from the original on 6 September 2003. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
    5. ↑ "Earth Impact Risk Summary: 2003 QQ47 (Aug 31 arc=7 days)" (2003-09-01 (computed on 31 August 2003)). Wayback Machine: JPL. Archived from the original on 1 September 2003. Retrieved 3 February 2013. (5.7e-07 = 1 in 1,754,000 chance)
    6. ↑ "Date/Time Removed". NASA/JPL Near-Earth Object Program Office. Archived from the original on 26 April 2011. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
    7. ↑ "NEODyS-2 Close Approaches for 2003QQ47". Near Earth Objects – Dynamic Site. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
    8. ↑ "Asteroid danger in 2014 downplayed". BBC News. 2 September 2003. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
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