(68950) 2002 QF15
Discovery[1]
Discovered byLINEAR
Discovery siteLincoln Lab's ETS
Discovery date27 August 2002
Designations
(68950) 2002 QF15
2002 QF15
NEO · PHA · Apollo[1][2]
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc61.85 yr (22,591 days)
Aphelion1.4206 AU
Perihelion0.6930 AU
1.0568 AU
Eccentricity0.3442
1.09 yr (397 days)
216.46°
0° 54m 25.92s / day
Inclination25.155°
236.24°
255.51°
Earth MOID0.0068 AU · 2.6 LD
Physical characteristics
Dimensions1.12±0.03 km[3]
3.49 km (calculated)[4]
29 h[lower-alpha 1]
47.0±0.5 h[5]
0.040 (assumed)[4]
0.428±0.029[3]
S[4]
16.4[1][3][4]

    (68950) 2002 QF15 is a stony asteroid, classified as near-Earth object and potentially hazardous asteroid of the Apollo group, that measures approximately 2 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 27 August 2002, by the LINEAR project at Lincoln Laboratory's Experimental Test Site in Socorro, New Mexico, United States.[2]

    Orbit and classification

    2002 QF15 is a S-type asteroid that orbits the Sun at a distance of 0.7–1.4 AU once every 1 years and 1 month (397 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.34 and an inclination of 25° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] Taken at Palomar Observatory in 1955, a first precovery from the during the Digitized Sky Survey extends the body's observation arc by 47 years prior to its official discovery observation at Socorro.[2]

    It has an Earth minimum orbital intersection distance 0.0063 AU (942,000 km), which translates into 2.6 LD.[1]

    Physical characteristics

    In June 2006, a rotational lightcurve of 2002 QF15 was obtained from photometric observation taken by American astronomer Brian Warner at his Palmer Divide Observatory in Colorado. Lightcurve analysis gave a rotation period of 47 hours with a brightness variation of 0.35 magnitude (U=2),[5] superseding a lightcurve previously obtained by Czech astronomer Petr Pravec at Ondřejov Observatory in 2003, which gave a shorter period of 29 hours and an amplitude of 0.3 magnitude (U=2-).[lower-alpha 1]

    According to the survey carried out by the Japanese Akari satellite, the asteroid measures 1.12 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.428,[3] while the Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.040 and calculates a diameter of 3.49 kilometers with an absolute magnitude of 16.4.[4]

    Numbering and naming

    This minor planet was numbered by the Minor Planet Center on 10 September 2003.[6] As of 2018, it has not been named.[2]

    Notes

    1. 1 2 Pravec (2003) web: rotation period 29 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.3 mag. Summary figures at Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link for (68950) and unpublished data sheet from the Ondrejov Asteroid Photometry Project

    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 68950 (2002 QF15)" (2017-05-29 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
    2. 1 2 3 4 "68950 (2002 QF15)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
    3. 1 2 3 4 Usui, Fumihiko; Kuroda, Daisuke; Müller, Thomas G.; Hasegawa, Sunao; Ishiguro, Masateru; Ootsubo, Takafumi; et al. (October 2011). "Asteroid Catalog Using Akari: AKARI/IRC Mid-Infrared Asteroid Survey". Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan. 63 (5): 1117–1138. Bibcode:2011PASJ...63.1117U. doi:10.1093/pasj/63.5.1117. (online, AcuA catalog p. 153)
    4. 1 2 3 4 5 "LCDB Data for (68950)". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 22 March 2017.
    5. 1 2 Warner, Brian D. (December 2006). "Asteroid lightcurve analysis at the Palmer Divide Observatory - March - June 2006". The Minor Planet Bulletin. 33 (4): 85–88. Bibcode:2006MPBu...33...85W. ISSN 1052-8091. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
    6. ↑ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
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