2022 AE1 is a Tunguska event-sized asteroid, classified as a near-Earth object of the Apollo group, approximately 70 meters (230 feet) in diameter.[5] It was discovered by the Mount Lemmon Survey on 6 January 2022, when it was 0.09 AU (13 million km) from Earth.[1] On 9 January 2022 with an observation arc of 3 days, it was rated with a Torino scale of 1 for a virtual impactor on 4 July 2023 16:28 UTC.[3][a] Nominal approach is expected to occur 1 July 2023 01:13 ± 1 day.[2][b] With a Palermo scale rating of as high as –0.66 at the European Space Agency on 11 January 2022,[6] the odds of impact peaked at about 4.6[c] times less than the background hazard level.[d] NEODyS was the first risk-page to drop to Torino scale 0 on 12 January 2022[7] followed by ESA on 13 January 2022,[6] but by January 14 both returned to Torino scale 1. On 14 January 2022 the waxing gibbous moon was as little as 3 degrees from the asteroid delaying observations of the asteroid from January 12–19.[8] On 20 January 2022 with a 16-day observation arc, using JPL #11 the Sentry Risk Table dropped the asteroid to Torino scale 0 and then later that day JPL #12 resulted in it being removed from the risk table.[9][10]
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Mount Lemmon Survey |
| Discovery site | Mount Lemmon Obs. |
| Discovery date | 6 January 2022 |
| Designations | |
| 2022 AE1 | |
| Orbital characteristics[2] | |
| Epoch 2022-Jan-21 (JD 2459600.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 7 | |
| Observation arc | 20 days |
| Aphelion | 2.27 AU (Q) |
| Perihelion | 0.667 AU (q) |
| 1.47 AU (a) | |
| Eccentricity | 0.547 (e) |
| 1.78 years | |
| 39° (M) | |
| Inclination | 6.3° (i) |
| 102.2° (Ω) | |
| 10 November 2021 | |
| 268.3° (ω) | |
| Earth MOID | 0.00007 AU (10 thousand km) |
| Jupiter MOID | 3.2 AU (480 million km) |
| Physical characteristics | |
Mean diameter |
|
| 23.49[4] | |
| Observation arc (in days) | JPL Horizons nominal geocentric distance (AU) | uncertainty region (3-sigma) | Impact probability (1 in) | Torino scale |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.9 | 0.024 AU (3.6 million km)[11] | ± 38 million km[11] | 2900 | 1 |
| 5.9 | 0.043 AU (6.4 million km)[12] | ± 31 million km[12] | 1800 | 1 |
| 7.1 | 0.043 AU (6.4 million km)[13] | ± 22 million km[13] | 1500 | 1 |
| 7.9 | 0.066 AU (9.9 million km)[14] | ± 20 million km[14] | 2800 | 1 |
| 8.1 | 0.039 AU (5.8 million km)[15] | ± 12 million km[15] | 1700 | 1 |
| 16.1 | 0.053 AU (7.9 million km)[16] | ± 7 million km[16][b] | 71000 | 0 |
| 16.1 (JPL #12) | 0.059 AU (8.8 million km)[17] | ± 5 million km[17] | 0[3] | 0[3] |
| 20 | 0.072 AU (10.8 million km)[18] | ± 4 million km[18] | 0 | 0 |
| Date & Time | Approach to | Nominal distance |
|---|---|---|
| 2023-Jul-01 01:13 ± 1 day | Earth | 9246404 km[2] |
| 2023-Jul-01 03:44 | Moon | 9463958 km[19] |
It came to perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) on 10 November 2021, and then approached Earth from the direction of the Sun making closest Earth approach on 31 December 2021 at distance of about 10 million km.[2]
See also
Notes
References
External links
- 2022 AE1 at NeoDyS-2, Near Earth Objects—Dynamic Site
- 2022 AE1 at ESA–space situational awareness
- 2022 AE1 at the JPL Small-Body Database