2022 AP7

Last updated

2022 AP7
Discovery [1]
Discovered by S. S. Sheppard
Discovery site Cerro Tololo Observatory
Discovery date13 January 2022
Designations
2022 AP7
NEO  · Apollo  · PHA [2]
Orbital characteristics [3]
Epoch 9 August 2022 (JD  2459800.5)
Uncertainty parameter 1
Observation arc 4.86 yr (1,774 days)
Earliest precovery date20 December 2017
Aphelion 5.015 AU
Perihelion 0.833 AU
2.924 AU
Eccentricity 0.7151
5.00  yr [3]
25.857°
0° 11m 49.647s / day
Inclination 13.835°
192.377°
30 March 2022
113.590°
Earth  MOID 0.04716 AU (7,055,000 km; 18.35 LD)
Mars  MOID 0.07344 AU (10,986,000 km; 28.58 LD) [2]
Jupiter  MOID 1.19258 AU (178.407 Gm)
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter
1.1–2.3 km [4] [lower-alpha 1]
1.2 km [5] [lower-alpha 2]
17.1±0.2 [4] [3]
17.3 (MPC) [2]

    2022 AP7 is a kilometer-sized Apollo asteroid and potentially hazardous object orbiting between Venus and Jupiter. It was discovered on 13 January 2022 by Scott Sheppard at Cerro Tololo Observatory. [1] Based on its absolute magnitude (H), 2022 AP7 is likely the largest potentially hazardous object identified in the eight years prior to its 2022 discovery. [4] [lower-alpha 3]

    Contents

    Discovery

    2022 AP7 was discovered as part of Sheppard's twilight survey for near-Earth asteroids interior to Earth and Venus, using Cerro Tololo Observatory's Dark Energy Camera. [1] Notable discoveries from this survey include the Atira asteroids 2021 LJ4 and 2021 PH27 , the latter of which holds the record for the shortest orbital period of any known asteroid as of 2022. [4]

    Orbit and classification

    2022 AP7 is considered "potentially hazardous" only because of its large size and low Earth minimum orbit intersection distance (MOID) just within 0.05  AU (7.5 million  km ; 19  LD ). [3] [4] However, the asteroid does not currently make notable close approaches to Earth because it is in a 1:5 near orbital resonance with Earth, [8] which means it nearly takes exactly 5.0 years to orbit the Sun in a highly elliptical orbit. [3] This resonance regularly puts it in positions where observational conditions are unfavorable; the asteroid is obscured by the Sun's glare when it becomes brightest near perihelion at low solar elongations and can be fainter at opposition when it is farther from Earth. [4] As a result, 2022 AP7 could only be efficiently searched at twilight when at its brightest; the asteroid was 45 degrees from the Sun and 1.9 AU from Earth when it was discovered. [4] [9] The asteroid made its closest approach 1.5 AU from Earth in March 2022. The asteroid will not come this close to Earth again until March 2027. [10] By May 2022, when the asteroid was 1 AU from the Sun and near the ecliptic, Earth was on the other side of the Sun, 1.9 AU from the asteroid. [11]

    The asteroid is not risk listed. 2022 AP7's orbit is well-determined and will guarantee only distant approaches beyond 1.1 AU (160 million km; 430 LD) of Jupiter over the next 146 years. [3] [8] The asteroid will also pass 0.16 AU (24 million km; 62 LD) from Mars on 9 May 2107. [12] Nominally the asteroid will not approach 1 AU from Earth until April 2332. [13] Over the next several centuries if not thousands of years, repeated perturbations by these encounters will eventually break the 1:5 near orbital resonance of 2022 AP7, potentially leading to an impact with Earth. [14]

    2022 AP7 Closest Approaches 2022–2150
    (Earth has the farthest approach)
    ObjectDateNearest approach (AU)
    Mars 2107-05-090.16  AU (24 million  km ; 62  LD ) [12]
    Venus 2147-04-220.23 AU (34 million km; 90 LD) [15]
    Mercury 2062-03-070.44 AU (66 million km; 170 LD) [16]
    Sun 2057-03-260.82 AU (123 million km; 320 LD) [17]
    Jupiter 2109-09-301.19 AU (178 million km; 460 LD) [3]
    Earth 2052-03-121.37 AU (205 million km; 530 LD) [18]

    Notes

    1. ↑ Diameter range based on absolute magnitude of 17.1 and assumed albedo range of 0.20 to 0.05.
    2. ↑ An absolute magnitude of 17.3 and assumed albedo of 0.14 gives a diameter of 1,231 m (1.231 km) (or ≈1.2 km after rounding). PHAs brighter than absolute magnitude 17.75 are likely larger than 1 km in size.
    3. ↑ 2014 LJ21 was discovered on 5 June 2014 and has an absolute magnitude of 16.05 [6] with an estimated diameter of ≈2.2 km. Another potentially hazardous asteroid similar in size to 2022 AP7 is 2022 RX3 (absolute magnitude of 17.64) [7] estimated to be ≈1.1 km in diameter.

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    References

    1. 1 2 3 "MPEC 2022-B21 : 2022 AP7". IAU Minor Planet Center. 23 January 2022. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
    2. 1 2 3 2022 AP7 at Minor Planet Center, retrieved 31 October 2022
    3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2022 AP7)". Jet Propulsion Laboratory . Retrieved 31 October 2021.
    4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Sheppard et al. 2022.
    5. ↑ "ESA Summary: 2022AP7". European Space Agency . Retrieved 1 November 2022.
    6. ↑ 2014 LJ21 at Minor Planet Center, accessed 31 October 2022
    7. ↑ 2022 RX3 at Minor Planet Center, accessed 1 November 2022
    8. 1 2 USA Today 2022.
    9. ↑ "Horizons Batch for January 2022 Range and Solar Elongation". JPL Horizons . Retrieved 1 November 2022.
    10. ↑ "Horizons Batch for 2022 to 2055". JPL Horizons . Retrieved 31 October 2022. (text search: "n.a. 1.4")
    11. ↑ "Horizons Batch for 1au at ecliptic". JPL Horizons . Retrieved 2 November 2022.
    12. 1 2 "Horizons Batch for Mars 2107". JPL Horizons. Archived from the original on 3 November 2022. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
    13. ↑ "Horizons Batch for Earth 2332". JPL Horizons. Archived from the original on 4 November 2022. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
    14. ↑ NYT 2022.
    15. ↑ "Horizons Batch for Venus 2147". JPL Horizons. Archived from the original on 4 November 2022. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
    16. ↑ "Horizons Batch for Mercury 2062". JPL Horizons. Archived from the original on 4 November 2022. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
    17. ↑ "Horizons Batch for Sun 2057 (Perihelion)". JPL Horizons . Retrieved 4 November 2022.
    18. ↑ "Horizons Batch for Earth 2052". JPL Horizons. Archived from the original on 4 November 2022. Retrieved 4 November 2022.

    Sources

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