astro.wikisort.org - Asteroid

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.[1] It forms an asteroid pair with 2018 RY7 and is currently trapped in a 3:5 mean motion resonance with Venus.[2]

2017 SN₁₆

Discovery[1]
Discovered by	A. R. Gibbs[2] Mount Lemmon Srvy.
Discovery site	Mount Lemmon Obs.
Discovery date	24 September 2017 (first observed only)
Designations
MPC designation	2017 SN16
Minor planet category	NEO · Apollo[1][3]
Orbital characteristics[3]
Epoch 27 April 2019 (JD 2458600.5)
Uncertainty parameter 1
Observation arc	1.07 yr (391 d)
Aphelion	1.1640 AU
Perihelion	0.8683 AU
Semi-major axis	1.0161 AU
Eccentricity	0.1455
Orbital period (sidereal)	1.02 yr (374 d)
Mean anomaly	77.918°
Mean motion	0° 57m 43.92s / day
Inclination	13.383°
Longitude of ascending node	2.7324°
Argument of perihelion	136.98°
Earth MOID	0.0928 AU (36.2 LD)
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter	58 m (est. at 0.25)[4] 130 m (est. at 0.05)[4]
Absolute magnitude (H)	23.3[1][3]

Orbit and classification

2017 SN₁₆ is a member of the Apollo asteroids, which cross the orbit of Earth. Apollo's are the largest group of near-Earth objects with nearly 10 thousand known objects.

The object orbits the Sun at a distance of 0.87–1.17 AU once every 374 days (semi-major axis of 1.02 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.15 and an inclination of 13° with respect to the ecliptic.[3] It has a minimum orbital intersection distance with Earth of 13,900,000 km (0.0928 AU), which translates into 36.2 lunar distances (LD).[3] The body's observation arc begins with its first observation at Mount Lemmon in September 2017.[1]

Asteroid pair

2017 SN₁₆ is currently trapped in a 3:5 mean motion resonance with Venus and follows an orbit very similar to that of 2018 RY7. They form a pair of asteroids which at some point in the past had very small relative velocities (in the order of only a few meters per second), and may represent a former binary system where the two bodies became gravitationally unbound – by a YORP-induced fission, for example – and subsequently followed separate orbits around the Sun. Other pairs may have been formed from collisional breakup of a parent body.[2] Both 2017 SN₁₆ and 2018 RY₇ shows the highest observed level of dynamical coherence among the population of near-Earth objects.

Numbering and naming

This minor planet has neither been numbered nor named.[1]

Physical characteristics

2017 SN₁₆ has an absolute magnitude of 23.3 which gives a calculated mean diameter between 58 and 130 meters for an assumed geometric albedo of 0.25 and 0.05, respectively.[4]

References

External links

• MPEC 2017-S186: 2017 SN16, Minor Planet Electronic Circular
• MPEC 2018-R38 : 2017 SN16, Minor Planet Electronic Circular
• List Of Apollo Minor Planets (by designation), Minor Planet Center
• Asteroid pairs and clusters, Johnston's Archive
• 2017 SN16 at NeoDyS-2, Near Earth Objects—Dynamic Site
  • Ephemeris · Obs prediction · Orbital info · MOID · Proper elements · Obs info · Close · Physical info · NEOCC
• 2017 SN16 at ESA–space situational awareness
  • Ephemerides · Observations · Orbit · Physical Properties · Summary
• 2017 SN16 at the JPL Small-Body Database
  • Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit diagram · Orbital elements · Physical parameters

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