4581 Asclepius
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| Discovery A | |
|---|---|
| Discoverer | Henry E. Holt Norman G. Thomas |
| Discovery date | March 31, 1989 |
| Alternate designations B |
1989 FC |
| Category | Apollo asteroid |
| Orbital elements C | |
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|
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| Eccentricity (e) | 0.357 |
| Semi-major axis (a) | 152.890 Gm (1.022 AU) |
| Perihelion (q) | 98.330 Gm (0.657 AU) |
| Aphelion (Q) | 207.449 Gm (1.387 AU) |
| Orbital period (P) | 377.380 d (1.03 a) |
| Mean orbital speed | 28.50 km/s |
| Inclination (i) | 4.910° |
| Longitude of the ascending node (Ω) |
180.452° |
| Argument of perihelion (ω) |
255.106° |
| Mean anomaly (M) | 114.057° |
| Physical characteristics D | |
| Dimensions | 300 m |
| Mass | ?×10? kg |
| Density | ? g/cm³ |
| Surface gravity | ? m/s² |
| Escape velocity | ? km/s |
| Rotation period | ? d |
| Spectral class | ? |
| Absolute magnitude | 20.4 |
| Albedo (geometric) | 0.1? |
| Mean surface temperature |
~275 K |
4581 Asclepius is a small asteroid of the Apollo group that can approach Earth’s orbit to within 600,000 km; it was discovered in 1989 by the American astronomers Henry E. Holt (1929-) and Norman G. Thomas (1930-). Asclepius (1989 FC) passed by the Earth on March 22, 1989 at a distance of some 700,000 km, causing some media attention at that time. Astronomers say had the asteroid hit Earth, the impact would have been equivalent to 1 Hiroshima-sized atomic bomb detonating every second for 50 days. Subsequent discoveries revealed that a whole class of such objects exists, and that an object the size of the one which just missed Earth in March, 1989, probably comes by undetected once every two or three years. "On the cosmic scale of things, that was a close call," said Dr. Henry Holt.
| Minor planets | ||
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| Previous minor planet | 4581 Asclepius | Next minor planet |
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| Vulcanoids | Near-Earth asteroids | Main belt | Jupiter Trojans | Centaurs | Damocloids | Comets | Trans-Neptunians (Kuiper belt · Scattered disc · Oort cloud) |
| For other objects and regions, see: asteroid groups and families, binary asteroids, asteroid moons and the Solar system For a complete listing, see: List of asteroids. See also Pronunciation of asteroid names and Meanings of asteroid names. |
