4581 Asclepius

Sub-kilometer-sized asteroid

4581 Asclepius /əˈskliːpiəs/, provisional designation 1989 FC, is a sub-kilometer-sized asteroid, classified as near-Earth object and potentially hazardous asteroid of the Apollo group that makes close orbital passes with Earth. Discovered on 31 March 1989 by American astronomers Henry Holt and Norman Thomas at Palomar Observatory, Asclepius is named after the Greek god of medicine and healing.[4][3]

Asclepius passed by Earth on 22 March 1989 at a distance of 0.00457 AU (684,000 km; 425,000 mi).[5][6] Although this exceeds the Moon's orbital radius, the close pass received attention at that time. "On the cosmic scale of things, that was a close call", said Dr. Henry Holt.[7] Geophysicists estimate that collision with Asclepius would release energy comparable to the explosion of a 600 megaton atomic bomb.[8] The asteroid was discovered 31 March 1989, nine days after its closest approach to the Earth.[9]

Subsequent discoveries revealed that a whole class of such objects exists. Close approaches by objects the size of Asclepius pass by every two or three years, undetected until the start of computerized near-Earth object searches.

On 24 March 2051, the asteroid will pass 0.0123 AU (1,840,000 km; 1,140,000 mi) from the Earth.[5][6] It will be the eighth pass of less than 30 Gm in this century.[5] JPL shows that the uncertainty region of the asteroid will cause it to most likely pass from 0.02 AU to 0.17 AU from the Earth in 2135.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 4581 Asclepius (1989 FC)" (2016-07-06 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  2. ^ Noah Webster (1884) A Practical Dictionary of the English Language
  3. ^ a b Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(4581) Asclepius". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (4581) Asclepius. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 394. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_4512. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3.
  4. ^ a b "4581 Asclepius (1989 FC)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  5. ^ a b c d "JPL Close-Approach Data: 4581 Asclepius (1989 FC)" (2015-08-10 last obs (arc=26.36 years)). Archived from the original on 30 December 2016. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  6. ^ a b "NEODyS-2 Close Approaches for (4581) Asclepius". Near Earth Objects – Dynamic Site. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
  7. ^ "Asteroid's Passing a 'Close Call' for Earth, NASA Says". Los Angeles Times. 20 April 1989. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  8. ^ Gilchrist, Tom (October 2008). "Effects of an impact event: an analysis of asteroid 1989FC". Geoverse: eJournal of Undergraduate Research in Geography. ISSN 1758-3411. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  9. ^ Brian G. Marsden (29 March 1998). "How the Asteroid Story Hit: An Astronomer Reveals How a Discovery Spun Out of Control". Minor Planet Center and Boston Globe newspaper. Retrieved 14 November 2011.

External links

  • Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB), query form (info Archived 16 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine)
  • Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, Google books
  • Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (1)–(5000) – Minor Planet Center
  • 4581 Asclepius at NeoDyS-2, Near Earth Objects—Dynamic Site
    • Ephemerides · Observation prediction · Orbital info · MOID · Proper elements · Observational info · Close approaches · Physical info · Orbit animation
  • 4581 Asclepius at the JPL Small-Body Database Edit this at Wikidata
    • Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit diagram · Orbital elements · Physical parameters
Authority control databases Edit this at Wikidata
  • JPL SBDB
  • MPC