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

    Related Research Articles

    2003 YN107 is a tiny asteroid, classified as a near-Earth object of the Aten group moving in a 1:1 mean-motion resonance with Earth. Because of that, it is in a co-orbital configuration relative to Earth.

    Mount Lemmon Survey (MLS) is a part of the Catalina Sky Survey with observatory code G96. MLS uses a 1.52 m (60 in) cassegrain reflector telescope operated by the Steward Observatory at Mount Lemmon Observatory, which is located at 2,791 meters (9,157 ft) in the Santa Catalina Mountains northeast of Tucson, Arizona.

    <span class="nowrap">2012 BX<sub>34</sub></span>

    2012 BX34 is a small Aten asteroid that made one of the closest recorded asteroid close approaches of Earth on 27 January 2012. It passed within 0.0004371 AU (65,390 km; 40,630 mi) of Earth during its closest approach at 15:25 GMT. 2012 BX34 measures around 8 meters (26 ft) across; if it had impacted in 2012, it would have been too small to pass through Earth's atmosphere intact.

    (322756) 2001 CK32 is a sub-kilometer asteroid and near-Earth object of the Aten group. It is also a transient Venus co-orbital, and a Mercury grazer as well as an Earth crosser. It was once designated as a potentially hazardous asteroid.

    2012 XE133 is an asteroid, classified as near-Earth object of the Aten group that is a temporary co-orbital of Venus.

    2013 BS45 (also written 2013 BS45) is a horseshoe companion to the Earth like 3753 Cruithne. Like Cruithne, it does not orbit the Earth in the normal sense and at times it is on the other side of the Sun, yet it still periodically comes nearer to the Earth in sort of halo orbit before again drifting away. While not a traditional natural satellite, it does not quite have normal heliocentric orbit either and these are sometimes called quasi-satellties or horseshoe orbits.

    2006 JY26 is a near-Earth object that is also horseshoe companion to the Earth like 3753 Cruithne.

    2011 EO40 is an asteroid, classified as a near-Earth object and a potentially hazardous asteroid of the Apollo group. It is a possible candidate for the parent body of the Chelyabinsk superbolide.

    2013 ND15 (also written 2013 ND15) is an asteroid that is a temporary trojan of Venus, the first known Venus trojan.

    2014 OL339 (also written 2014 OL339) is an Aten asteroid that is a temporary quasi-satellite of Earth, the fourth known Earth quasi-satellite.

    2013 LX28, is an asteroid, classified as near-Earth object of the Apollo group that is a temporary quasi-satellite of the Earth, the third known Earth quasi-satellite.

    2015 SO2 (also written 2015 SO2) is an Aten asteroid that is a temporary horseshoe companion to the Earth, the ninth known Earth horseshoe librator. Prior to its most recent close encounter with our planet (2015 September 30) it was an Apollo asteroid.

    2015 YQ1 (also written 2015 YQ1) is an Apollo asteroid that is a temporary horseshoe companion to the Earth, the twelfth known Earth horseshoe librator. It experienced a close encounter with the Earth on 2015 December 22 at 0.0037 AU.

    2015 YA is a sub-kilometer asteroid, classified as near-Earth object of the Aten group, that is a temporary horseshoe companion to the Earth. It is the 11th known Earth horseshoe librator. Prior to a close encounter with the Earth on 15 December 2015, 2015 YA was an Apollo asteroid.

    2017 FZ2 (also written 2017 FZ2) is a micro-asteroid and near-Earth object of the Apollo group that was a quasi-satellite of the Earth until March 23, 2017.

    2017 DR109, is a micro-asteroid, classified as near-Earth object of the Apollo group and Aten group, respectively. It is currently trapped in a 1:1 mean motion resonance with the Earth of the horseshoe type. The object was first observed on 27 February 2017, by astronomers of the Catalina Sky Survey conducted at Mount Lemmon Observatory, Arizona, United States.

    2017 SN16, is a sub-kilometer asteroid, classified as a near-Earth object of the Apollo group, approximately 90 meters (300 feet) in diameter. The object was first observed on 24 September 2017, by cometary discoverer Alex Gibbs with the Mount Lemmon Survey at Mount Lemmon Observatory, Arizona, in the United States. It forms an asteroid pair with 2018 RY7 and is currently trapped in a 3:5 mean motion resonance with Venus.

    2018 RY7, is a small near-Earth object of the Apollo group. It is currently trapped in a 3:5 mean motion resonance with Venus. The object was first observed on 14 September 2018, by astronomer B. M. Africano with the Mount Lemmon Survey at Mount Lemmon Observatory, Arizona, United States.

    2020 PN1 is a sub-kilometer asteroid, classified as a near-Earth object of the Aten group, that is a temporary horseshoe companion to the Earth. There are dozens of known Earth horseshoe librators, some of which switch periodically between the quasi-satellite and the horseshoe co-orbital states.

    2009 SH2 is a sub-kilometer near-Earth asteroid of the Aten group, discovered by the Siding Spring Survey at Siding Spring Observatory, Australia on 18 September 2009. It is in a co-orbital configuration with Earth, a type of 1:1 orbital resonance where the asteroid appears to librate around Earth's path in a horseshoe orbit when viewed in a corotating reference frame with Earth. The co-orbital state of 2009 SH2 is only temporary as it has entered it about 30 years ago and will leave it in about 100 years into the future.

    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
    This page is based on this Wikipedia article
    Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
    Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.