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Discovery[1]
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| Discovered by | D. J. Tholen, and R. J. Whiteley |
| Discovery site | Mauna Kea Observatory - UH88 |
| Discovery date | 2000-09-29 |
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Designations
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| Minor planet category |
Aten |
| Epoch 2454600.5 | |
| Aphelion | 1.04286173 ± 7.4785e-07 AU |
| Perihelion | .9119995 ± 4.3409e-06 AU |
| Semi-major axis | .97743066 ± 7.0093e-07 AU |
| Eccentricity | .0669419 ± 3.7724e-06 |
| Orbital period | 352.9615239 ± 0.00037967 d |
| Mean anomaly | 228.373742 ± 0.0031236° |
| Inclination | .1103173 ± 8.2267e-06° |
| Longitude of ascending node | 192.301028 ± 0.0015524° |
| Argument of perihelion | 274.922907 ± 0.00164° |
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Physical characteristics
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| Dimensions | 37 m[3] |
| Mass | 7.1×107 kg[3] |
| Absolute magnitude (H) | 24.788 ± 0.83657[2] |
2000 SG344 (also written 2000 SG344) is a small Aten asteroid discovered in 2000. It has a diameter of 37 m and an estimated mass of 7.1×107 kg (71,000 tonnes).[3] The object could also be classified as a meteoroid, although the most common definition uses a diameter of 10 m as the demarcation. Because of its very Earth-like orbit and the fact that it would have been near the Earth in 1971, it is thought that 2000 SG344 might actually be a man made object such as an S-IVB booster stage from a Saturn V rocket.[4][5]
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Until December 2004, it was considered to have the highest (though still very low) likelihood of any near-Earth object to impact Earth in the next 100 years. It is ranked a zero on the Torino Scale of impact risk (the scale is 0–10) and is listed on Sentry Risk Table.[3][6] It was briefly surpassed in December 2004 by 99942 Apophis (which at the time was known only by its provisional designation 2004 MN4).
Based on 31 observations of 2000 SG344 made from May 1999 to October 2000, there is about a 1 in 556 chance that it will collide with Earth between 2068 and 2101. If that happens, the energy released by the impact would be an estimated 1.1 megatons of TNT.[3]
NASA is considering it as a possible target for a manned mission, using the Orion spacecraft, prior to a projected 2030 push to Mars.[7]
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