(357439) 2004 BL86

(357439) 2004 BL86

Goldstone radar image of (357439) 2004 BL86 and its satellite S/2015 (357439) 1
Discovery[1]
Discovered by LINEAR (704)
Discovery date 30 January 2004
Designations
MPC designation (357439) 2004 BL86
Apollo NEO,
PHA[2]
Orbital characteristics[2]
Epoch 13 January 2016 (JD 2457400.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0[2]
Observation arc 4084 days (11.18 yr)
Aphelion 2.1069 AU (315.19 Gm)
Perihelion 0.89754 AU (134.270 Gm)
1.50223 AU (224.730 Gm)
Eccentricity 0.40252
1.84 yr (672.52 d)
208.11194°
 32m 7.094s / day
Inclination 23.77604°
126.70921°
311.44162°
Known satellites 1[3]
Earth MOID 0.00810452 AU (1,212,419 km)
Jupiter MOID 3.24294 AU (485.137 Gm)
Jupiter Tisserand parameter 4.364
Physical characteristics
Dimensions 325 m (1,066 ft)[3]
2.6205 h (0.10919 d)
V-type asteroid[4]
19.3[2]

    (357439) 2004 BL86,[5] provisionally known as 2004 BL86, is a near-Earth asteroid estimated to be about 325 meters (1,066 feet) in diameter.[3] It was discovered on 30 January 2004 by LINEAR.[1] It passed 1,199,600 km (745,400 mi), or 3.1 lunar distances, from Earth on 26 January 2015 at 16:20 UTC.[5][6] During the 2015 approach it was determined to have a satellite.

    2015 Earth approach

    On 26–27 January 2015, the asteroid briefly peaked around apparent magnitude 9 and was near the celestial equator.[7] The asteroid was visible in telescopes with objectives of 100 mm (4 in) or larger; high-end binoculars under a dark sky may also have worked.[8] Near closest approach the asteroid was moving about 2.5 degrees per hour (2.5 arcseconds per second).[7][9] The asteroid came to opposition (furthest elongation in the sky from the Sun) on 27 January 2015 at 04:37 UTC.[7] Around 5:00 UTC, the asteroid was near M44 (the Beehive Cluster).[9]

    26 January 2015 approach of 3.1 lunar distances was the closest approach of 2004 BL86 for at least the next 200 years.[5][6][10] For comparison, 2015 TB145 about twice the size of 2004 BL86, passed 486,800 km (302,500 mi), or 1.3 lunar distances, from Earth on 31 October 2015.[11]

    Satellite

    A satellite was first detected by ground-based telescopes by Joe Pollock and Petr Pravec.[12] Observations by the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex and Green Bank Telescope confirmed that it is a binary asteroid with a secondary roughly 70 meters (230 feet) across.[3] The secondary is estimated to orbit at least 500 metres (1,600 ft) from the primary.[13] About 16% of asteroids over 200 metres (660 ft) in diameter are thought to be binaries.[3]

    Gallery

    References

    1. 1 2 "MPEC 2004-B80 : 2004 BL86". IAU Minor Planet Center. 31 January 2004. Retrieved 7 June 2014. (K04B86L)
    2. 1 2 3 4 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 357439 (2004 BL86)" (last observation: 20 December 2014; arc: 10.89 years). NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
    3. 1 2 3 4 5 Agle, D. C. (26 January 2015). "Asteroid That Flew Past Earth Today Has Moon". NASA. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
    4. "PSI Scientists Study Surface Composition of Asteroid 2004 BL86 During Close Flyby of Earth". Planetary Science Institute. 27 January 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
    5. 1 2 3 Agle, D. C.; Brown, Dwayne (13 January 2015). "Asteroid to Fly By Earth Safely on January 26 [2015]". NASA. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
    6. 1 2 "JPL Close-Approach Data: 357439 (2004 BL86)" (last observation: 12 March 2013; arc: 9.11 years). NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
    7. 1 2 3 "(357439) 2004BL86 Ephemerides for 25 January 2015 through 29 January 2015". NEODyS. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
    8. Musgrave, Ian (23 January 2015). "Seeing the Close Flyby of NEO 2004 BL86 26 - 27 January, 2015". Retrieved 28 January 2015.
    9. 1 2 MacRobert, Alan (22 January 2015). "Mountain-size Asteroid Glides Past Earth". Sky & Telescope. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
    10. Busch, Michael (7 February 2015). "Final post-flyby update...". Twitter.com. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
    11. "JPL Close-Approach Data: 2015 TB145" (last observation: 1 November 2015; arc: 22 days). NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
    12. "Image Release: High-Def Radar Images of Near-Earth Asteroid". National Radio Astronomy Observatory. 30 January 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
    13. Busch, Michael (28 January 2015). "Will require combined analysis...". Twitter.com. Retrieved 7 February 2015.

    External links

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