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(8201) 1994 AH2 is a highly eccentric, rare-type asteroid, classified as near-Earth object of the Apollo group of asteroids, approximately 2 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 5 January 1994, by Australian amateur astronomer Gordon Garradd during the AANEAS survey at the Siding Spring Observatory, Australia.[7] It has an Earth minimum orbit intersection distance of 0.1 AU (15 million km) and is associated with the Beta Taurids daytime meteor shower.[8]
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | G. J. Garradd |
| Discovery site | Siding Spring Obs. |
| Discovery date | 5 January 1994 |
| Designations | |
| (8201) 1994 AH2 | |
| 1994 AH2 | |
| Apollo · NEO[1] Alinda group | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 34.86 yr (12,731 days) |
| Aphelion | 4.3322 AU |
| Perihelion | 0.7436 AU |
| 2.5379 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.7070 |
| 4.04 yr (1,477 days) | |
| 285.46° | |
| 0° 14m 37.68s / day | |
| Inclination | 9.5538° |
| 164.12° | |
| 25.120° | |
| Earth MOID | 0.1012 AU · 39.4 LD |
| Jupiter MOID | 0.6611 AU |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 1.859±0.183 km[2][3] 2.17 km (calculated)[4] 2.2 km[5] |
| 23.949 h[5][6] 24 h[lower-alpha 1] | |
| 0.15 (estimated)[5] 0.154±0.042[2][3] 0.18 (assumed)[4] | |
| SMASS=O[1] · O[4][5] | |
| 15.8[1][4] · 16.3[2][5] | |
The asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 0.7–4.3 AU once every 4.04 years (1,477 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.71 and an inclination of 10° with respect to the ecliptic.[1] It is a member of the Alinda group of asteroids with a 3:1 resonance with Jupiter that has excited the eccentricity of the orbit over the eons.[9] As an Alinda asteroid it makes approaches to Jupiter, Earth, and Venus.[10]
1994 AH2 has an Earth minimum orbital intersection distance of 0.1012 AU (15,100,000 km), which corresponds to 39.4 lunar distances. Due to its elongated orbit, it also approaches the orbit of Jupiter within 0.1022 AU (15,300,000 km).[1] On 4 January 2079, it will pass 0.3595 AU (53,800,000 km) from the Earth.[10]
A first precovery was taken at the discovering observatory in 1981, extending the asteroid's observation arc by 13 years prior to its discovery.[7]
In the SMASS classification, 1994 AH2 is characterized as a rare O-type asteroid.[1]
Rotation period
In the late 1990s, Czech astronomer Petr Pravec obtained two rotational lightcurves for this asteroid from photometric observations taken at the Ondřejov Observatory, Czech Republic. They gave a longer-than average rotation period of 23.949 and 24 hours with a brightness variation of 0.27 and 0.3 magnitude, respectively (U=2/n.a.).[6][lower-alpha 1]
Diameter and albedo
According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, the asteroid measures 1.86 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.154.[2][3] The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.18 and calculates a diameter of 2.17 kilometers, based on an absolute magnitude of 15.8.[4] American astronomer Richard Binzel gives a diameter of 2.2 kilometers.[5]
As of 2017, 1994 AH2 remains unnamed.[7]
- Pravec (1998) web: Observation from 15 July 1998. Rotation period 24 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.3 mag. No quality rating available. Summary figures at Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL) for (8201) and Pravec, P.; Wolf, M.; Sarounova, L. (1998)
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