(89959) 2002 NT 7
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Asteroid (89959) 2002 NT 7 |
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|---|---|
| Properties of the orbit ( animation ) | |
| Orbit type | Apollo type |
| Major semi-axis | 1.735 AU |
| eccentricity | 0.529 |
| Perihelion - aphelion | 0.818 AU - 2.653 AU |
| Inclination of the orbit plane | 42.339 ° |
| Length of the ascending node | 132.055 ° |
| Argument of the periapsis | 300.673 ° |
| Time of passage of the perihelion | November 28, 2018 |
| Sidereal period | 2.29 years |
| Physical Properties | |
| Medium diameter | 1.407 km (± 0.085) |
| Albedo | 0.224 (± 0.053) |
| Absolute brightness | 16.4 mag |
| history | |
| Explorer | LINEAR |
| Date of discovery | July 9, 2002 |
| Source: Unless otherwise stated, the data comes from JPL Small-Body Database Browser . The affiliation to an asteroid family is automatically determined from the AstDyS-2 database . Please also note the note on asteroid items. | |
(89959) 2002 NT 7 is an asteroid of the Apollo-type , the July 9, 2002 under the LINEAR -Suchprogramms in New Mexico ( United States was discovered). It was the second asteroid in history to be found to be positive on the Palermo Scale , a scale used to assess the risk of an impact on Earth.
The asteroid moves around the sun at a distance of 0.818 ( perihelion ) to 2.653 ( aphelion ) astronomical units in around 2.29 years . Its orbit is inclined at 42.339 ° to the ecliptic .
Due to its brightness, the mean diameter of (89959) 2002 NT 7 could be estimated at approx. 1.4 km .
Possible risk of a strike
At the end of July 2002, shortly after its discovery, a positive value on the Palermo scale was determined for 2002 NT 7 as the second asteroid, after (29075) 1950 DA , for which an impact in the year 2880 had already been determined at the beginning of April 2002. Thus, (89959) 2002 NT 7 is the second object in history to have a positive value on the Palermo scale, but the first to have an impact in the near future. According to this, at this point in time there was a low probability of a collision with the earth on February 1, 2019, which was also due to the orbital data that was only inaccurately known at the time. This news spread throughout the world in the media. Numerous observations of the asteroid in the following days improved the accuracy of the orbit data and the probability of an impact decreased very quickly.
Today it is known that 2002 NT 7 will safely pass Earth on January 13, 2019 with a distance of 0.4078 AU (61,010,000 km).
See also
Web links
- Space rock 'on collision course on bbc.co.uk, July 24, 2002
- (89959) 2002 NT7 in the database of the "Asteroids - Dynamic Site" (AstDyS-2, English).
Individual evidence
- ↑ (89959) 2002 NT 7 in the NASA database