| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | E. F. Helin J. Alu |
| Discovery site | Palomar Obs. |
| Discovery date | 24 September 1992 |
| Designations | |
| (10115) 1992 SK | |
| 1992 SK · 1985 SD 1985 TO2 | |
| Apollo · NEO · PHA[1][2] | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 63.57 yr (23,219 days) |
| Aphelion | 1.6539AU |
| Perihelion | 0.8429 AU |
| 1.2484 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.3248 |
| 1.39yr (509 days) | |
| 47.505° | |
| 0° 42m 23.76s / day | |
| Inclination | 15.322° |
| 8.9232° | |
| 233.63° | |
| Earth MOID | 0.0449 AU · 17.5LD |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 0.90±0.20 km[3] 0.938±0.294 km[4] 1.000±0.085 km[5] 1.0±0.2[6] 1.18 km(calculated)[7] | |
| 7.31±0.02 h[8] 7.31832 h[9] 7.319 h[7] 7.323±0.005 h[10] 7.328±0.002h[a] 7.320232±0.000010 h[6] | |
| 0.20(assumed)[7] 0.2799±0.1397[5] 0.318±0.214[4] 0.34±0.25[3] 0.38±0.24[11] | |
| SMASS =S[1] · S[7] · S/Sq[12] | |
| 17.0[1][4][5][7] · 17.4[a] | |
(10115) 1992 SK, is a stonynear-Earth object andpotentially hazardous asteroid on an eccentric orbit. It belongs to the group ofApollo asteroids and measures approximately 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) in diameter. It was discovered by American astronomersEleanor Helin andJeff Alu at thePalomar Observatory in California on 24 September 1992.[2]
The asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 0.8–1.7 AU once every 17 months (509 days). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.32 and aninclination of 15° with respect to theecliptic. Its Earthminimum orbit intersection distance is 0.0449 AU (6,720,000 km). This makes the body a potentially hazardous asteroid, because itsMOID is less than 0.05 AU and its diameter is greater than 150 meters.[1] The firstprecovery was obtained at Palomar Observatory in 1953, extending the asteroid'sobservation arc by 39 years prior to its discovery.[2]
In theSMASS classification,1992 SK is characterized as a common stonyS-type asteroid.[1]
Several rotationallightcurves form photometric observations have been obtained for this body. In 1999, Czech astronomerPetr Pravec constructed a lightcurve, that rendered arotation period of7.328 hours and a brightness variation of 0.72 inmagnitude (U=n/a).[a]
In March 2006, observations by astronomer David Polishook from the ground-basedWise Observatory, Israel, gave a rotation period of7.31 and amplitude of 0.70 mag (U=2),[8] and in November 2011, American astronomerBrian Warner at the Palmer Divide Observatory, Colorado, obtained the first well-defined period of7.323 hours with an amplitude of 0.50 mag (U=3).[10]
The rotation period of 1992 SK is slowly accelerating due to theYORP effect.[6]
According to the surveys carried out by NASA's space-basedWide-field Infrared Survey Explorer with its subsequentNEOWISE mission, the asteroid measures 1.0 and 0.94 kilometers in diameter and its surface has analbedo of 0.28 to 0.32, respectively.[4][5] The ExploreNEOs project finds an albedo of 0.34, with a diameter of 0.9 kilometers,[3] and theCollaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link calculates a diameter of 1.18 kilometers based on an assumed standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and anabsolute magnitude of 17.0.[7]
Thisminor planet wasnumbered by theMinor Planet Center on 2 March 1999.[13] As of 2019[update], it has not beennamed.[2]
