(669555) 2012 YQ1 explained

Minorplanet:yes
Background:
  1. FFC2E0
Discoverer:A. Oreshko
T. Kryachko
Discovery Site:Elena Remote Obs.
Discovered:19 December 2012
Mp Category:NEOApolloPHA
Epoch:13 January 2016 (JD 2457400.5)
Uncertainty:6
Aphelion:3.1188abbr=onNaNabbr=on
Perihelion:0.86916AU
Semimajor:1.99398AU
Eccentricity:0.56411
Period:2.82 yr (1028.4 d)
Inclination:5.15193°
Asc Node:120.16813°
Mean Anomaly:12.74578°
Arg Peri:42.09537°
Mean Motion: /day
Moid:0.00774939AU
Mean Diameter:~220m (720feet)
Abs Magnitude:20.9

is a sub-kilometer asteroid, classified as a near-Earth object and a potentially hazardous asteroid of the Apollo group, approximately 200 meters in diameter. It was first observed on 19 December 2012, by astronomers Andrey Oreshko and Timur Kryachko at the Elena Remote Observatory located in the Chilean Atacama desert.

Description

With a 4-day observation arc, the asteroid had a 1 in 3 million chance of impacting in 2106. With a 10-day observation arc, the asteroid had a 1 in 10 million chance of impacting in 2106. On 5 January 2013, the asteroid passed 0.1abbr=onNaNabbr=on from Earth. It was removed from the Sentry Risk Table on 8 January 2013. It had an observation arc of 32 days and an orbital uncertainty of 7. Since the asteroid had a poorly known orbit, the cone of uncertainty quickly multiplied as a result of perturbations by the inner planets and prevented precise/reliable ephemeris data. Eliminating an entry on the Sentry Risk Table is a negative prediction; a prediction of where it will NOT be. With MPEC 2024-C131 the Minor Planet Center published a newly computed orbit on 12 February 2024, using observations till 12 November 2023 and prediscovery observations from 31 May till 5 June 2010, reducing the uncertainty to 1.

In the popular press

In 2013, an article, originally posted on The Voice of Russia[1] had a poorly researched headline stating "We have 93 years left till the next End of the World". This story was reposted on Space Daily, but then astronomer Phil Plait clarified that it was "a fascinating mix of fact and error. A lot of what it says is accurate, but the most important claim—that an asteroid will impact Earth in 2106—is simply wrong."[2]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Zamanskaya . Yulia . 2013-02-08 . We have 93 years left till the next End of the World: killer asteroid to hit Earth in 2106: Voice of Russia . https://web.archive.org/web/20130208031058/http://english.ruvr.ru/2013_02_05/We-have-93-years-left-till-the-next-End-of-the-World-killer-asteroid-to-hit-Earth-in-2106/ . 2013-02-08 . 2023-10-08 . english.ruvr.ru.
  2. Slate. No, An Asteroid Is NOT Going to Hit Earth in 2106 . Phil Plait . 13 Feb 2013 .