(523972) 1999 CW8
 screenshot of the orbit of 1999 CW8 in the program Celestia. | |
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | LINEAR |
| Discovery date | 1999-Feb-12 |
| Designations | |
| Apollo asteroid | |
| Orbital characteristics[2] | |
| Epoch 13 January 2016 (JD 2457400.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 3823 days (10.47 yr) (3 oppositions) |
| Aphelion | 3.5755 AU (534.89 Gm) |
| Perihelion | 0.89566 AU (133.989 Gm) |
| 2.2356 AU (334.44 Gm) | |
| Eccentricity | 0.59936 |
| 3.34 yr (1220.9 d) | |
| 359.950° | |
| 0° 17m 41.496s /day | |
| Inclination | 33.648° |
| 317.049° | |
| 262.042° | |
| Known satellites | none |
| Earth MOID | 0.231164 AU (34.5816 Gm) |
| Mars MOID | ~0.06 AU |
| Jupiter MOID | 2.68151 AU (401.148 Gm) |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 460-1130 meters |
| B[2] | |
| 18.6 | |
1999 CW8 is an Apollo asteroid and near-Earth object that is a B-type asteroid, relatively rare in the asteroid belt but common in the inner solar system. The asteroid never approaches Earth closer than 0.2 AU, but occasionally makes close approaches to Mars of 0.07 AU. It makes one such approach in 2073, at 0.067 AU, and another one in 2103, at 0.094 AU. Due to 1999 CW8's relatively high inclination, although it passes closer to the Sun than the Earth (0.9 AU), it never comes closer than 0.2 AU.
Based on absolute magnitude, and assuming an albedo between 0.05 and 0.3, typical of most asteroids, the asteroid is between 500 and 1100 meters across, and if it impacted the Earth would cause significant damage, but not as much as the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event progenitor, which brought about a mass extinction, as it is only 1/20 to 1/10 the size. However, it is unlikely to come close enough to Earth to impact it, or even become a risk of impact.
 |
| the orbit of 1999 CW8, showing its inclination above the plane of the Solar System |
See also
References
- ^ "1999 CW8 - IAU Minor Planet Center". Minor Planet Center. International Astronomical Union. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
- ^ a b "JPL Small Body Database Browser". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. NASA. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
