6344 P–L
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by |
Palomar–Leiden survey C. J. van Houten I. van Houten-G. T. Gehrels |
| Discovery site | Palomar Obs. |
| Discovery date | 1960 |
| Designations | |
| MPC designation | 6344 P-L |
| 2007 RR9 | |
| Apollo · NEO · PHA | |
| Orbital characteristics [1] | |
| Epoch 13 January 2016 (JD 2457400.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 47.36 yr (17,298 days) |
| Aphelion | 4.6744 AU |
| Perihelion | 0.9327 AU |
| 2.8036 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.6673 |
| 4.69 yr (1,715 days) | |
| 265.54° | |
| Inclination | 4.7248° |
| 183.58° | |
| 234.13° | |
| Earth MOID | 0.0280 AU |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 20.4[1] | |
|
| |
6344 P-L is an Apollo, near-Earth, potentially hazardous asteroid that was discovered in the year 1960 by asteroid searchers Tom Gehrels, Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld, and Cornelis Johannes van Houten. Last seen in 1960, it was lost, but rediscovered in 2007 as 2007 RR9.[2] In other words, it was a lost asteroid from 1960 until it was recovered and recognized as the same object by Peter Jenniskens in 2007.[3]
The designation P-L stands for Palomar–Leiden, named after Palomar Observatory and Leiden Observatory, which collaborated on the fruitful Palomar–Leiden survey in the 1960s. Gehrels used Palomar's 48-inch Samuel Oschin telescope and shipped the photographic plates to Cornelis Johannes van Houten and Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld at Leiden Observatory. The trio are credited with several thousand asteroid discoveries.[3]
It is either an asteroid or dormant comet nucleus, and it has a 4.7-year orbit around the Sun.[3] The orbit goes out as far as Jupiter's but then back in, passing as close as 0.07 AU to the Earth, making it a collision risk.[3]
6344 P-L classifies as a potentially hazardous asteroid (PHA) with an minimum orbit intersection distance (MOID) of 0.028 AU and an estimated diameter of about 200–500 meters (based on an absolute magnitude of 20.4).[1] It is probably a dormant comet, although it was not outgassing at the time of its recovery.[3]
References
- 1 2 3 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (6344 P-L)" (2008-02-03 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved January 2016.
- ↑ Long-lost 'Potentially Hazardous Asteroid' re-located (Asian News International)
- 1 2 3 4 5 Long-Lost, Dangerous Asteroid Is Found Again – ScienceDaily (Oct. 15, 2007)
External links
- 6344 P-L at the JPL Small-Body Database
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||