(90075) 2002 VU94, provisional designation 2002 VU94, is an asteroid on an eccentric orbit, classified as near-Earth object and potentially hazardous asteroid of the Apollo group, approximately 2.5 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 13 November 2002, by astronomers of the Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking program at Palomar Observatory in California, United States.[2] It is one of the largest potentially hazardous asteroids known.[8]
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | NEAT |
| Discovery site | Palomar Obs. |
| Discovery date | 13 November 2002 |
| Designations | |
MPC designation | (90075) 2002 VU94 |
Alternative designations | 2002 VU94 |
Minor planet category | Apollo · NEO · PHA[1][2] |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 62.16 yr (22,704 days) |
| Aphelion | 3.3631 AU |
| Perihelion | 0.9045 AU |
Semi-major axis | 2.1338 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.5761 |
Orbital period (sidereal) | 3.12 yr (1,138 days) |
Mean anomaly | 26.512° |
Mean motion | 0° 18m 58.32s / day |
| Inclination | 8.9155° |
Longitude of ascending node | 226.78° |
Argument of perihelion | 30.617° |
| Earth MOID | 0.0301 AU · 11.7 LD |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 2.233±0.084 km[3] 2.59 km (calculated)[4] |
Synodic rotation period | 7.878±0.002 h[5] 7.879±0.002 h[lower-alpha 1] 7.88±0.01 h[6] 7.90±0.01 h[7] |
Geometric albedo | 0.20 (assumed)[4] 0.294±0.040[3] |
Spectral type | S (assumed)[4] |
Absolute magnitude (H) | 15.2[3] · 15.3[1][4] |
2002 VU94 is a member of the dynamical Apollo group,[1][2] which are Earth-crossing asteroids. Apollo asteroids are the largest subgroup of near-Earth objects. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 0.9–3.4 AU once every 3 years and 1 month (1,138 days; semi-major axis of 2.13 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.58 and an inclination of 9° with respect to the ecliptic.[1]
The body's observation arc begins with a precovery from the Digitized Sky Survey taken at the Palomar Observatory in October 1955, or 47 years prior to its official discovery observation.[2]
With an absolute magnitude of 15.3, 2002 VU94 is one of the brightest and largest known potentially hazardous asteroid (see PHA-list).[8] It has an Earth minimum orbital intersection distance of 0.0301 AU (4,500,000 km), which translates into 11.7 lunar distances.[1] On 18 May 2092, the body will make its closest near-Earth encounter at a nominal distance of 0.095 AU (37 LD).[1] The asteroid is also Mars-crosser, crossing the orbit of the Red Planet at 1.66 AU.
2002 VU94 is an assumed, stony S-type asteroid.[4]
In 2014 and 2017, several rotational lightcurves[lower-alpha 2] of 2002 VU94 were obtained from photometric observations by American astronomer Brian Warner at the Palmer Divide Station (U82) in California.[5][6][7][lower-alpha 1] Lightcurve analysis gave a consolidated rotation period of 7.879 hours with a brightness amplitude between 0.31 and 0.64 magnitude (U=3-).[4][lower-alpha 1]
In 2017, Warner also modeled the photometric data and determined a sidereal period of 7.878512 hours, as well as a spin axis of (73.0°, −50.0°) in ecliptic coordinates (λ, β).[4]
According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, 2002 VU94 measures 2.233 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.294,[3] while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20, and calculates a diameter of 2.59 kilometers based on an absolute magnitude of 15.3.[4]
This minor planet was numbered by the Minor Planet Center on 30 August 2004.[9] As of 2018, it has not been named.[2]
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