2020 AP1
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | MLS |
| Discovery site | Mount Lemmon Obs. |
| Discovery date | 4 January 2020 |
| Designations | |
| 2020 AP1 | |
| NEO–Apollo [2] | |
| Orbital characteristics[2] | |
| Epoch 2020-May-31 (JD 2459000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 7 | |
| Observation arc | 1 day |
| Aphelion | 2.196 AU (328,500,000 km) (Q) |
| Perihelion | 0.9810 AU (146,760,000 km) (q) |
| 1.588 AU (237,600,000 km) (a) | |
| Eccentricity | 0.3824 (e) |
| 2.002 yr | |
| 77.83° (M) | |
| Inclination | 2.256° (i) |
| 101.2° (Ω) | |
| 25 December 2021 | |
| 349.7° (ω) | |
| Earth MOID | 0.0014 AU (210,000 km; 0.54 LD) |
| Jupiter MOID | 3.0 AU (450,000,000 km) |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 3–7 meters (CNEOS) | |
| 29.6[2] | |
2020 AP1 is an Apollo near-Earth object roughly 5 meters (20 feet) in diameter. On 2 January 2020 it passed 0.00218 AU (326 thousand km; 0.85 LD) from Earth. With a short 1-day observation arc it was roughly expected to pass about 0.01 AU (1.5 million km; 3.9 LD) from Earth on 7 January 2022, but with an uncertainty of ±8 days for the close approach date it could have passed significantly closer or further.
| Date | JPL SBDB nominal geocentric distance | uncertainty region (3-sigma) |
|---|---|---|
| 2022-01-07.7 ± 8.3 days | 1.7 million km | ± 2.5 million km[3] |
Discovery
[edit]2020 AP1 came to perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) on 24 December 2020. On 2 January 2020 it passed 0.00218 AU (326 thousand km; 0.85 LD) from Earth.[2] It was then discovered by the Mount Lemmon Survey on 4 January 2020, when it was 0.006 AU (900 thousand km; 2.3 LD) from Earth and had a solar elongation of 134°.[1] Being such a small and faint asteroid with the bright glare of the waxing gibbous moon in the sky, it was only observed for 1 day. The Earth approach increased the asteroid's orbital period by roughly 21 days.
2022
[edit]The asteroid came to perihelion around 25 December 2021. The poorly constrained orbit has the asteroid passing 0.01 AU (1.5 million km; 3.9 LD) from Earth on 7 January 2022 with an uncertainty region of about ±2.5 million km extending over ±8 days.[2]
The JPL Small-Body Database shows a linear minimum possible distance of 0.000007 AU (1,000 km) from the center of Earth,[2] which would be inside of the 6,371 km radius of Earth. It is not listed on the more thorough Sentry Risk Table[4] because Sentry accounts for orbit propagation nonlinearities along the line of variations and the nonlinearities do not intersect where Earth will be.
See also
[edit]- 2018 AH – Short arc object approaching in December 2021
- 2009 JF1 – Short arc object possibly approaching in May 2022
References
[edit]- ^ a b "MPEC 2020-A67 : 2020 AP1". IAU Minor Planet Center. 5 January 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2020. (K20A01P)
- ^ a b c d e f g "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2020 AP1)" (last observation: 2020-01-05; arc: 1 day). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Archived from the original on 17 December 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
- ^ "Horizons Batch for 2022-Jan-07 17:32 UT". JPL Horizons. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
- ^ 2020 AP1 is not listed on the Sentry Risk Table
External links
[edit]- List Of Apollo Minor Planets (by designation), Minor Planet Center
- 2020 AP1 at NeoDyS-2, Near Earth Objects—Dynamic Site
- 2020 AP1 at ESA–space situational awareness
- 2020 AP1 at the JPL Small-Body Database
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