524522 Zoozve (;

provisional designation Provisional designation in astronomy is the naming convention applied to astronomical objects immediately following their discovery. The provisional designation is usually superseded by a permanent designation once a reliable orbit has been calcu ...

) is a sub-kilometer sized

asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...

and temporary

quasi-satellite A quasi-satellite is an object in a specific type of co-orbital configuration (1:1 orbital resonance) with a planet (or dwarf planet) where the object stays close to that planet over many orbital periods. A quasi-satellite's orbit around the Sun ...

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

. Discovered in 2002, it was the first such object to be discovered around a major

planet A planet is a large, Hydrostatic equilibrium, rounded Astronomical object, astronomical body that is generally required to be in orbit around a star, stellar remnant, or brown dwarf, and is not one itself. The Solar System has eight planets b ...

in the

Solar System The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Sola ...

. It has nearly the same orbital period around the Sun that Venus does. In a frame of reference rotating with Venus, it appears to travel around it during one Venerean year, but it orbits the Sun, not Venus.

Discovery, orbit and physical properties

Zoozve was discovered on 11 November 2002 by Brian A. Skiff at

Lowell Observatory Lowell Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, United States. Lowell Observatory was established in 1894, placing it among the oldest observatories in the United States, and was designated a National Historic Landmark ...

. As of February 2013, it has been observed telescopically 457 times with a data-arc span of 2,947 days, and it was the target of Doppler observations on five occasions; therefore, its

orbit In celestial mechanics, an orbit (also known as orbital revolution) is the curved trajectory of an object such as the trajectory of a planet around a star, or of a natural satellite around a planet, or of an artificial satellite around an ...

is very well determined. Its semi-major axis of 0.7237 AU is very similar to that of Venus, but its eccentricity is relatively large (0.4104), and its orbital inclination is also significant (9.0060°). The spectrum of Zoozve implies that it is an

X-type asteroid The X-group of asteroids collects together several types with similar spectra, but probably quite different compositions. Tholen classification In the Tholen classification, the X-group consists of the following types: * E-type – with high ...

and hence an

albedo Albedo ( ; ) is the fraction of sunlight that is Diffuse reflection, diffusely reflected by a body. It is measured on a scale from 0 (corresponding to a black body that absorbs all incident radiation) to 1 (corresponding to a body that reflects ...

of about 0.25 should be assumed. The body is calculated to measure 236 meters in diameter. Its

rotational period In astronomy, the rotation period or spin period of a celestial object (e.g., star, planet, moon, asteroid) has two definitions. The first one corresponds to the ''sidereal rotation period'' (or ''sidereal day''), i.e., the time that the object ...

is 13.5 hours, and its

light curve In astronomy, a light curve is a graph (discrete mathematics), graph of the Radiance, light intensity of a celestial object or region as a function of time, typically with the magnitude (astronomy), magnitude of light received on the ''y''-axis ...

has an amplitude of 0.9 mag, which hints at a very elongated body, perhaps a

contact binary In astronomy, a contact binary is a binary star system whose component stars are so close that they touch each other or have merged to share their gaseous envelopes. A binary system whose stars share an envelope may also be called an overcontac ...

Quasi-satellite dynamical state and orbital evolution

The existence of retrograde satellites or quasi-satellites was first considered by J. Jackson in 1913 but none were discovered until almost 90 years later. Zoozve was the first quasi-satellite to be discovered, in 2002, although it was not immediately recognized as such. Zoozve was identified as a quasi-satellite of Venus by Seppo Mikkola, Ramon Brasser, Paul A. Wiegert and Kimmo Innanen in 2004, two years after the actual discovery of the object. From the perspective of a hypothetical observer in a frame of reference rotating with Venus, it appears to travel around the planet during one Venusian year. However, it does not orbit Venus, but instead orbits the Sun, like any other

. As a quasi-satellite, this minor body is trapped in a 1:1 mean-motion resonance with Venus. Besides being a Venus

co-orbital In astronomy, a co-orbital configuration is a configuration of two or more astronomical objects (such as asteroids, moons, or planets) orbiting at the same, or very similar, distance from their primary; i.e., they are in a 1:1 mean-motion resonanc ...

, this

Aten asteroid The Aten asteroids are a dynamical group of asteroids whose orbits bring them into proximity with Earth. By definition, Atens are Earth-crossing asteroids . The group is named after 2062 Aten, the first of its kind, discovered on 7 Janua ...

is also a

Mercury grazer A Mercury crosser or Mercury grazer is an asteroid whose orbit crosses that of Mercury. The Mercury crossers proper have aphelia outside Mercury's (0.4667 AU) and perihelia inside Mercury's (0.3075 AU), whereas those listed here as outer grazer ...

and an Earth crosser. Zoozve exhibits

resonant Resonance is a phenomenon that occurs when an object or system is subjected to an external force or vibration whose frequency matches a resonant frequency (or resonance frequency) of the system, defined as a frequency that generates a maximu ...

(or near-resonant) behavior with Mercury, Venus and

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

. It seems to have been co-orbital with Venus for only the last 7,000 years, and is destined to be ejected from this orbital arrangement about 500 years from now, where it will become a

Venus trojan A Venus trojan is an asteroid that orbits the Sun in the vicinity of Venus. Trojans travel in Venus-Sun Lagrangian points .; leading 60° or ; trailing 60°. is the only known trojan of Venus, and is located at Venus's Lagrangian point . While ...

orbiting at Venus' point. During this time, its distance to Venus has been and will remain larger than about .

Potentially hazardous asteroid

Zoozve is included in the

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. Funct ...

list of Potentially Hazardous Asteroids ( PHAs) because it comes relatively frequently to within 0.05 AU of Earth. Approaches as close as 0.04 AU occur with a periodicity of 8 years due to its near 8:13 resonance with Earth. Zoozve was discovered during the close approaches of 11 November 2002. It approached Earth on 7 November 2010, again on 4 November 2018, and its next fly-by with Earth will happen on 2 November 2026 within 0.0402 AU (15.7 Lunar distances). Numerical simulations indicate that an actual

collision In physics, a collision is any event in which two or more bodies exert forces on each other in a relatively short time. Although the most common use of the word ''collision'' refers to incidents in which two or more objects collide with great for ...

with Earth during the next 10,000 years is not likely, although dangerously close approaches to about 0.002 AU are possible, a distance potentially within Earth's

Hill sphere The Hill sphere is a common model for the calculation of a Sphere of influence (astrodynamics), gravitational sphere of influence. It is the most commonly used model to calculate the spatial extent of gravitational influence of an astronomical ...

Numbering and naming

This

minor planet According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term ''minor ...

was numbered by the

on 18 May 2019 (). On 26 January 2024, ''

Radiolab ''Radiolab'' is a radio program and podcast produced by WNYC, a public radio station based in New York City, and broadcast on more than 570 public radio stations in the United States. The show has earned many industry awards for its "imaginati ...

'' aired an episode about the asteroid, which co-host

Latif Nasser Latif Abdul Nasser ( ; born July 21, 1986) is a Canadian-American researcher, writer and presenter. He is the Director of Research and co-host at ''Radiolab'' and host of the Netflix show ''Connected''. Early life and education Nasser was bor ...

first noticed on his child's solar system poster, where it was referred to as "ZOOZVE", derived from the artist, Alex Foster, misreading his notes regarding the asteroid's provisional designation "2002VE". This led Skiff to propose the name "Zoozve", on Nasser's behalf, to the

International Astronomical Union The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...

's Working Group Small Bodies Nomenclature (WGSBN). The name was approved and announced by the WGSBN on 5 February 2024.

References

External links

Minor Planet Center

(PHAs)
Image acquired during the last 2002 VE68 close approach, 7 November 2010Martin Mobberley's Astronomical Images web site

Light curve
(Ondřejov NEO Photometric Program)

Zoozve
Radiolab episode (26 January 2024)
WGSBN Bulletin Volume 4, #2
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zoozve, 524522 Aten asteroids Discoveries by Brian A. Skiff 524522 Zoozve Venus co-orbital minor planets Potentially hazardous asteroids Venus-crossing asteroids Earth-crossing asteroids 20021111