 The orbit before and after flyby, with positions on 1 February 2018, before flyby | |
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Mount Lemmon Srvy. |
| Discovery site | Mount Lemon Obs. |
| Discovery date | 8 February 2018 (first observed only) |
| Designations | |
| 2018 CN2 | |
| NEO · Apollo[1][2] Earth- andMars crosser | |
| Orbital characteristics[2] | |
| Epoch 23 March 2018 (JD 2458200.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 7 | |
| Observation arc | 1 day |
| Aphelion | 1.7740AU |
| Perihelion | 0.6335 AU |
| 1.2037 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.4738 |
| 1.32yr (482 days) | |
| 348.58° | |
| 0° 44m 46.68s / day | |
| Inclination | 25.741° |
| 320.21° | |
| 276.55° | |
| Earth MOID | 7.7×10−5 AU (0.03LD) |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 5–16 m[3] 9 m(est. at0.20)[4] 17 m(est. at0.057)[4] | |
| 27.653[2] | |
2018 CN2 is a very smallasteroid, classified as anear-Earth object of theApollo group, approximately 5 to 16 meters in diameter. It was first observed by astronomers of theMount Lemmon Survey atMount Lemmon Observatory, Arizona, on 8 February 2018, one day prior its close encounter with Earth at 0.18lunar distances.[1]
2018 CN2 is a member of theApollo asteroids, whichcross the orbit of Earth. Apollo's are the largest group ofnear-Earth objects with nearly 10 thousand known objects.
Based on a high orbitaluncertainty, this asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 0.63–1.77 AU once every 16 months (482 days;semi-major axis of 1.20 AU). Its orbit has aneccentricity of 0.47 and aninclination of 26° with respect to theecliptic.[2] With anaphelion of 1.77 AU, it is also aMars-crosser, as it crosses the orbit of the Red Planet at 1.666 AU. The body'sobservation arc begins at Mount Lemmon with its first observation on 8 February 2018.[1]
The object has an exceptionally lowminimum orbital intersection distance with Earth of 11,500 km (0.000077 AU), or 0.03lunar distances (LD).[2]
On 9 February 2018,2018 CN2 passed at a nominal distance of only 69,900 km; 43,400 mi (0.000466964 AU) from Earth at 7:25 UTC.[2] This corresponds to 0.18 LD. Based on the body's high orbital uncertainty, all subsequent close encounters in 2022, 2023, 2026, 2027 and 2031, are projected to occur at a distance of more than 15 million kilometers (0.1 AU; 39 LD).[2]
TheMinor Planet Center estimates a diameter of 5–16 meters.[3] Based on a generic magnitude-to-diameter conversion,2018 CN2 measures between 9 and 17 meters in diameter, for anabsolute magnitude of 27.653, and an assumedalbedo between 0.057 and 0.20, which represent typical values forcarbonaceous andstony asteroids, respectively.[4]
As of 2018, no rotationallightcurve of2018 CN2 has been obtained from photometric observations. The body'srotation period,pole and shape remain unknown.[2]
Thisminor planet has neither been numbered nornamed.[1]
2018 in space | ||
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| SelectedNEOs | ||
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