2013 ND15

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2013 ND15
Discovery
Discovered by Pan-STARRS
Discovery date July 13, 2013
Designations
MPC designation 2013 ND15
Minor planet category Aten asteroid,[1][2]
Mercury crosser,
Venus crosser,
Earth crosser
Orbital characteristics[2][3][4]
Epoch November 4, 2013 (JD 2456600.5)
(Uncertainty=7)
Aphelion 1.1660 AU
Perihelion 0.2811 AU
Semi-major axis 0.7235 AU
Eccentricity 0.6115
Orbital period 0.6154 y (224.79 d)
Mean anomaly 357.57°
Inclination 4.794°
Longitude of ascending node 95.84°
Argument of perihelion 19.69°
Physical characteristics
Dimensions 40-100 m[a][5]
Absolute magnitude (H) 24.1[2]

    2013 ND15, also written 2013 ND15, is an asteroid that is a temporary trojan of Venus, the first known Venus trojan.[6]

    Discovery, orbit and physical properties

    2013 ND15 was discovered on July 13, 2013 by N. Primak, A. Schultz, T. Goggia and K. Chambers observing for the Pan-STARRS project. As of January 2014, it has been observed 21 times with a data-arc span of 26 days. It is an Aten asteroid and its semi-major axis (0.7235 AU) is very similar to that of Venus but it has high eccentricity (0.6115) and small orbital inclination (4.794°). With an absolute magnitude of 24.1, it has a diameter in the range 40–100 m (for an assumed albedo range of 0.04-0.20).

    Trojan dynamical state and orbital evolution

    2013 ND15 has been identified as a Venus trojan following a tadpole orbit around Venus’ Lagrangian point L4.[6] Besides being a Venus co-orbital, this asteroid is also a Mercury crosser and an Earth crosser. 2013 ND15 exhibits resonant (or near-resonant) behavior with Mercury, Venus and Earth.[6] Its short-term dynamical evolution is different from that of the other three Venus co-orbitals, 2001 CK32, 2002 VE68, and 2012 XE133.[6]

    Potentially hazardous asteroid

    2013 ND15 is not included in the Minor Planet Center list of potentially hazardous ssteroids (PHAs) as its absolute magnitude is greater than 22.0 but comes to within 0.05 AU of Earth periodically. It will approach Earth at 0.077 AU on June 21, 2016.

    See also

    Notes

    • ^ This is assuming an albedo of 0.20–0.04.

    References

    Further reading

    External links

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