(524522) 2002 VE68
Animation of 2002 VE68's orbit from 1600 to 2500 - relative to Sun and Venus
  Sun ·   Venus ·   2002 VE68
Discovery[1]
Discovered byLONEOS
Discovery siteAnderson Mesa Stn.
Discovery date11 November 2002
Designations
(524522) 2002 VE68
2002 VE68
Aten · NEO · PHA
quasi-satellite
Orbital characteristics[2]
Epoch 5 September 2014 (JD 2456905.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc16.06 yr (5,866 d)
Aphelion1.0206 AU
Perihelion0.4268 AU
0.7237 AU
Eccentricity0.4103
225 days
251.64°
1° 36m 3.6s / day
Inclination9.0060°
231.58°
355.45°
Earth MOID0.027 AU (10.44 LD)
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter
236 m (calculated)[3]
13.50±0.01 h[3][4]
0.20 (assumed)[3]
X[4]
B–V = 0.690±0.041[4]
V–R = 0.404±0.037[4]
V–I = 0.751±0.039[4]
20.5[2][3]
20.59±0.02[4]

    (524522) 2002 VE68, provisional designation 2002 VE68, is a sub-kilometer sized asteroid and temporary quasi-satellite of Venus.[5] It was the first such object to be discovered around a major planet in the Solar System. In a frame of reference rotating with Venus, it appears to travel around it during one Venerean year but it actually orbits the Sun, not Venus.[6]

    Discovery, orbit and physical properties

    It was discovered on 11 November 2002 at Lowell Observatory. As of February 2013, 2002 VE68 has been observed telescopically 457 times with a data-arc span of 2,947 days and it was the target of Doppler observations in 5 occasions; therefore, its orbit is very well determined. Its semi-major axis of 0.7237 AU is very similar to that of Venus but its eccentricity is rather large (0.4104) and its orbital inclination is also significant (9.0060°). The spectrum of 2002 VE68 implies that it is an X-type asteroid and hence an albedo of about 0.25 should be assumed.[7] The body is calculated to measure 236 meters in diameter. Its rotational period is 13.5 hours and its light curve has an amplitude of 0.9 mag which hints at a very elongated body, perhaps a contact binary.[7]

    Quasi-satellite dynamical state and orbital evolution

    The existence of retrograde satellites or quasi-satellites was first considered by J. Jackson in 1913[8] but none was discovered until almost 100 years later.[6] 2002 VE68 was the first quasi-satellite to be discovered, in 2002, although it was not immediately recognized as such. 2002 VE68 was identified as a quasi-satellite of Venus by Seppo Mikkola, Ramon Brasser, Paul A. Wiegert and Kimmo Innanen in 2004, two years after the actual discovery of the object.[5][6] From the perspective of a hypothetical observer in a frame of reference rotating with Venus, it appears to travel around the planet during one Venusian year although it does not orbit Venus but the Sun like any other asteroid. As quasi-satellite, this minor body is trapped in a 1:1 mean-motion resonance with Venus. Besides being a Venus co-orbital, this Aten asteroid is also a Mercury grazer and an Earth crosser. 2002 VE68 exhibits resonant (or near-resonant) behavior with Mercury, Venus and Earth.[9][10] It seems to have been co-orbital with Venus for only the last 7,000 years, and is destined to be ejected from this orbital arrangement about 500 years from now.[6] During this time, its distance to Venus has been and will remain larger than about 0.2 AU (3·107 km).

    Potentially hazardous asteroid

    2002 VE68 is included in the Minor Planet Center list of Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs) because it comes relatively frequently to within 0.05 AU of Earth. Approaches as close as 0.04 AU occur with a periodicity of 8 years due to its near 8:13 resonance with Earth.[9] 2002 VE68 was discovered during the close approaches of 11 November 2002. During the last close encounter on 7 November 2010, 2002 VE68 approached Earth within 0.035 AU (13.6 Lunar distances), brightening below 15th magnitude. Its next fly-by with Earth happened on 4 November 2018 at 0.038 AU (5,700,000 km; 3,500,000 mi).[11] Numerical simulations indicate that an actual collision with Earth during the next 10,000 years is not likely, although dangerously close approaches to about 0.002 AU are possible, a distance potentially within Earth's Hill sphere.[9]

    Numbering and naming

    This minor planet was numbered by the Minor Planet Center on 18 May 2019 (M.P.C. 114620).[12] As of 2020, it has not been named.[1]

    See also

    References

    1. 1 2 "2002 VE68". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
    2. 1 2 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2002 VE68)" (2018-12-03 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
    3. 1 2 3 4 "LCDB Data for (2002+VE68)". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 29 May 2019.
    4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Hicks, M.; Mayes, D.; Barajas, T. (December 2010). "Broadband photometry of 2002 VE68, a quasi-moon of Venus". The Astronomer's Telegram. 3073 (3073): 1. Bibcode:2010ATel.3073....1H.
    5. 1 2 Discovery of the first quasi-satellite of Venus (press announcement, Tuorla Observatory)
    6. 1 2 3 4 Asteroid 2002 VE68, a quasi-satellite of Venus
    7. 1 2 "Physical characterization of 2002 VE68, a quasi-moon of Venus" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 December 2013. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
    8. ↑ Retrograde satellite orbits
    9. 1 2 3 On the dynamical evolution of 2002 VE68
    10. ↑ de la Fuente Marcos, Carlos; de la Fuente Marcos, Raúl (2013). "Asteroid 2012 XE133, a transient companion to Venus". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 432 (2): 886–893. arXiv:1303.3705. Bibcode:2013MNRAS.432..886D. doi:10.1093/mnras/stt454.
    11. ↑ "JPL Close-Approach Data: (2002 VE68)" (2010-12-06 last obs (arc=8 years)). Retrieved 5 January 2013.
    12. ↑ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 29 May 2019.

    Further reading

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