(341843) 2008 EV5
![]() Principal axis views of (341843) 2008 EV5's shape. Model from Earth-based radar imaging. | |
Discovery | |
---|---|
Discovery date | 4 March 2008 |
Designations | |
341843 | |
2008 EV5 | |
Orbital characteristics[1] | |
Epoch 13 January 2016 (JD 2457400.5) | |
Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
Observation arc | 768 days (2.10 yr) |
Aphelion | 1.0384 AU (155.34 Gm) |
Perihelion | 0.87825 AU (131.384 Gm) |
0.95832 AU (143.363 Gm) | |
Eccentricity | 0.083561 |
0.94 yr (342.7 d) | |
303.16° | |
1.0506°/day | |
Inclination | 7.4366° |
93.396° | |
234.82° | |
Earth MOID | 0.0138092 AU (2.06583 Gm) |
Jupiter MOID | 4.05116 AU (606.045 Gm) |
TJupiter | 6.278 |
Physical characteristics | |
Dimensions | (420 x 410 x 390) ± 50 m[2] |
0.225 ± 0.02 km[2] | |
3.725 h (0.1552 d) ± 0.001 | |
3.725 ± .001 h | |
0.12 ± 0.04[2] | |
20.0 | |
(341843) 2008 EV5 is a near-Earth, potentially hazardous, Aten asteroid. It was discovered by the Mount Lemmon Survey in Tucson, Arizona, United States, on 4 March 2008.
Physical characteristics
2008 EV5 is an oblate spheroid 400 m (1,300 ft) in diameter. It rotates very slowly in a retrograde direction.[2] There is a 150 m (490 ft) diameter concave feature, possibly an impact crater, or a relic feature from a previous episode of rapid rotation that caused the asteorid's shape to reconfigure.[2] Visible and near-infrared spectroscopy show that 2008 EV5's composition is similar to that of carbonaceous chondrite meteorites.[3] 2008 EV5 is listed in the JPL Small-Body Database and classified as: Aten NEO, PHA (SPK-ID: 2341843).[1]
Sample return mission
2008 EV5 is the preliminary baseline target of a proposed sample-return NASA mission called ARM.[4][5] Besides the asteroid 2008 EV5, several other space rocks, including Itokawa and Bennu, are being considered for this mission.[4][5]
Origin and orbital history
2008 EV5 started its existence as part of a much larger body in the asteroid belt, with a likely diameter greater than 100 km.[6] 2008 EV5's immediate history likely started when its parent body experienced a large cratering event or, more likely, a catastrophic disruption event that resulted in a highly fractured, shattered, or reaccumulated object (rubble pile). As a result, 2008 EV5 may have been produced as a reassembly of ejected fragments. The location of what is now 2008 EV5 within this parent body is unknown.[7]
Given the available modeling work and data, the most plausible source family candidates for 2008 EV5 are Eulalia, New Polana, and Erigone. This assumes that 2008 EV5's true albedo is considerably lower than 10%. If 2008 EV5 does have a high albedo, a plausible source would be a population of high-albedo C-type asteroids in the inner asteroid belt. Second tier candidate families for the high-albedo case are Baptistina and Pallas.[7]
From here, the newly liberated 2008 EV5 began to change via the forces referred to as the Yarkovsky and YORP effects. The Yarkovsky effect describes a small force that affects orbital motion. It is caused by sunlight; when objects heat up in the Sun, they reradiate the energy away as heat, which in turn creates a tiny thrust. This recoil acceleration is much weaker than solar and planetary gravitational forces, but it can produce substantial orbital changes over timescales ranging from many millions to billions of years. The same physical phenomenon also creates a thermal torque that probably caused 2008 EV5 to take on a top-like appearance [2][7][8]
Dynamical models indicate that 2008 EV5 migrated inward across the inner asteroid belt over long timescales (i.e. the order of ~0.01–1 Gyr) until it reached a planetary gravitational resonance that drove it into the near-Earth asteroid (NEA) population over a timescale of the order of ~1 Myr. From there, gravitational interactions with both the planets and resonances allowed it to reach its current orbit within a few Myr to a few tens of Myr.[7]
On 23 December 2008, 2008 EV5 made a close approach to Earth at a distance of 8.4 lunar distances (0.022 AU, 3.2 million km), its closest until 2169.[2]
See also
References
- ^ a b Staff (November 8, 2012). "JPL Small-Body Database Browser - 341843 (2008 EV5)". NASA. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g Busch, Michael W.; Ostro, Steven J.; et al. (April 2011). "Radar observations and the shape of near-Earth asteroid 2008 EV5" (PDF). Icarus. 212 (2): 649–660. arXiv:1101.3794. Bibcode:2011Icar..212..649B. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2011.01.013. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
- ^ Reddy, Vishnu; Le Corre, Lucille; Hicks, Michael; Lawrence, Kenneth; Buratti, Bonnie; Abell, Paul; Gaffey, Michael; Hardersen, Paul (6 September 2012). "Composition of Near-Earth Asteroid 2008 EV5: Potential target for Robotic and Human Exploration". arXiv:1209.1207.
- ^ a b Steitz, David E. (25 March 2015). "RELEASE 15-050 - NASA Announces Next Steps on Journey to Mars: Progress on Asteroid Initiative". NASA. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
- ^ a b Borenstein, Seth (25 March 2015). "NASA details plans to pluck rock off asteroid, explore it". AP News. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
- ^ Morbidelli, Alessandro; Bottke, William F.; Nesvorný, David; Levison, Harold F. (December 2009). "Asteroids were born big". Icarus. 204 (2): 558–573. arXiv:0907.2512. Bibcode:2009Icar..204..558M. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2009.07.011.
- ^ a b c d Mazanek, Daniel; Reeves, David. "Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM) Formulation Assessment and Support Team (FAST) Final Report" (PDF). NASA Official. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ Walsh, Kevin J.; Richardson, Derek C.; Michel, Patrick (10 July 2008). "Rotational breakup as the origin of small binary asteroids". Nature. 454 (7201): 188–191. Bibcode:2008Natur.454..188W. doi:10.1038/nature07078.
External links
- Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (340001)-(345000) (IAU Minor Planet Center)
- 2008EV5 orbit in JPL small-body Database browser
- (341843) 2008 EV5 at the JPL Small-Body Database