is a kilometer-sized Apollo asteroid and

potentially hazardous object A potentially hazardous object (PHO) is a near-Earth object – either an asteroid or a comet – with an orbit that can make close approaches to the Earth and is large enough to cause significant regional damage in the event of impact. They ar ...

orbiting between

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...

and

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but ...

. It was discovered on 13 January 2022 by

Scott Sheppard Scott Sander Sheppard (born 1977) is an American astronomer and a discoverer of numerous moons, comets and minor planets in the outer Solar System. He is an astronomer in the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism at the Carnegie Institution for Scie ...

Cerro Tololo Observatory The Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) is an astronomical observatory located on Cerro Tololo in the Coquimbo Region of northern Chile, with additional facilities located on Cerro Pachón about to the southeast. It is approximately ...

. Based on its absolute magnitude (H), is likely the largest potentially hazardous object identified in the eight years prior to its 2022 discovery.

Discovery

was discovered as part of Sheppard's twilight survey for near-Earth asteroids interior to Earth and Venus, using

Dark Energy Camera The Dark Energy Survey (DES) is an astronomical survey designed to constrain the properties of dark energy. It uses images taken in the near-ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared to measure the expansion of the universe using Type Ia supernova ...

. Notable discoveries from this survey include the

Atira asteroid Atira asteroids or Apohele asteroids, also known as interior-Earth objects (IEOs), are asteroids whose orbits are entirely confined within Earth's orbit; that is, their orbit has an aphelion (farthest point from the Sun) smaller than Earth's peri ...

s and , the latter of which holds the record for the shortest orbital period of any known asteroid .

Orbit and classification

is considered "potentially hazardous" only because of its large size and low Earth minimum orbit intersection distance (MOID) just within . However, the asteroid does not currently make notable close approaches to Earth because it is in a 1:5 near orbital resonance with Earth, which means it nearly takes exactly 5.0 years to orbit the Sun in a highly elliptical orbit. This resonance regularly puts it in positions where observational conditions are unfavorable; the asteroid is obscured by the Sun's glare when it becomes brightest near perihelion at low

solar elongation In astronomy, a planet's elongation is the angular separation between the Sun and the planet, with Earth as the reference point. The greatest elongation of a given inferior planet occurs when this planet's position, in its orbital path around t ...

s and can be fainter at

opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * ''The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Comed ...

when it is farther from Earth. As a result, could only be efficiently searched at twilight when at its brightest; the asteroid was 45 degrees from the Sun and 1.9 AU from Earth when it was discovered. The asteroid made its closest approach 1.5 AU from Earth in March 2022. The asteroid will not come this close to Earth again until March 2027. By May 2022, when the asteroid was 1 AU from the Sun and near the ecliptic, Earth was on the other side of the Sun, 1.9 AU from the asteroid. The asteroid is not risk listed. 's orbit is well-determined and will guarantee only distant approaches beyond of Jupiter over the next 146 years. The asteroid will also pass from Mars on 9 May 2107. Nominally the asteroid will not approach 1 AU from Earth until April 2332. Over the next several centuries if not thousands of years, repeated perturbations by these encounters will eventually break the 1:5 near orbital resonance of , potentially leading to an impact with Earth.

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * * * *

External links

2022 AP7
at

Minor Planet Center The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Founded in 1947, it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Function ...

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