2012 FC71

Last updated

2012 FC71
Discovery [1]
Discovered by Mt. Lemmon Survey
A. Boattini
(unofficial credits)
Discovery date31 March 2012
Designations
2012 FC71
Orbital characteristics [2]
Epoch 16 February 2017 (JD  2457800.5)
Uncertainty parameter
Observation arc 21 days
Aphelion 1.0750  AU
Perihelion 0.9008 AU
0.9879 AU
Eccentricity 0.0882
0.98  yr (359 days)
150.11°
1° 0m 13.68s / day
Inclination 4.9430°
38.142°
348.30°
Earth  MOID 0.0566 AU (22.1  LD)
Physical characteristics
Dimensions20–40 m [a] [3]
25.2 [2]

    2012 FC71, also written 2012 FC71, is a small asteroid trapped in a Kozai resonance with the Earth. [4]

    Contents

    Discovery, orbit and physical properties

    It was first observed on 31 March 2012 by Andrea Boattini, observing for the Mt. Lemmon Survey. [5] [6] Its orbit is characterized by low eccentricity (0.088), low inclination (4.97º) and a semi-major axis of 0.9895 AU. [6] It is an Aten asteroid but also an Earth crosser. As of 21 April 2012 its orbit is based on 35 observations spanning a data-arc of 21 days. This short observation arc results in an orbit uncertainty of 7. It has not been seen since and is unlikely to be seen again for several decades. It will remain both very dim (around apparent magnitude 27), and close in the sky to the Sun (solar elongation of less than 90 degrees), making it impossible to observe with current ground based telescopes till the 2060s. A number of times during the decade it will again be visible in the night sky and at times be brighter than apparent magnitude 21, as when it was first observed. [2]

    Kozai resonator and future orbital evolution

    2012 FC71 is locked in a Kozai resonance and as such it has a very slow orbital evolution and it will remain relatively unperturbed for hundreds of thousands of years. [4] It had a close encounter with the Earth on 18 April 2012 at 0.076  AU when it was discovered and another on 17 May 2013 at 0.0581 AU, which was not observed.

    Origin

    It may have been originated within the Venus-Earth-Mars region or in the main asteroid belt like other Near-Earth Objects, then transitioned to an Amor-class asteroid before entering Earth's co-orbital region. [4]

    See also

    Notes

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    References

    1. 1 2 3 "2012 FC71". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
    2. 1 2 3 4 5 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 2012 FC71" (2012-04-21 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory . Retrieved 2 February 2017.
    3. ↑ "Absolute Magnitude (H)". NASA/JPL. Archived from the original on 2 March 2001. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
    4. 1 2 3 de la Fuente Marcos, C.; de la Fuente Marcos, R. (July 2013). "A resonant family of dynamically cold small bodies in the near-Earth asteroid belt". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters . 434 (1): L1–L5. arXiv: 1305.2825 . Bibcode:2013MNRAS.434L...1D. doi:10.1093/mnrasl/slt062.
    5. ↑ Discovery MPEC
    6. 1 2 MPC data on 2012 FC71
    Further reading
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