1999 CW8

1999 CW8
Screenshot of the orbit of 1999 CW8 in the program Celestia.
Discovery [1]
Discovered by LINEAR
Discovery site Lincoln Laboratory ETS
Discovery date 12 February 1999
Designations
MPC designation 1999 CW8
NEO · Apollo [1]
Orbital characteristics [1]
Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc 10.47 yr (3,823 days)
Aphelion 3.5762 AU
Perihelion 0.8956 AU
2.2359 AU
Eccentricity 0.5994
3.34 yr (1,221 days)
176.81°
0° 17m 41.28s / day
Inclination 33.641°
317.03°
262.07°
Earth MOID 0.2323 AU · 90.5 LD
Mars MOID 0.07356 AU [2]
Physical characteristics
Dimensions 0.64 km (generic at 0.159)[3]
SMASS = B [1]
18.6[1]

    1999 CW8 is a bright carbonaceous asteroid and sub-kilometer near-Earth object of the Apollo group, first observed on 12 February 1999, by astronomers of the Lincoln Near Earth Asteroid Research program at Lincoln Laboratory ETS in New Mexico, United States.[2]

    Description

    1999 CW8 is a B-type asteroid, relatively rare in the asteroid belt but common in the inner Solar System. The asteroid never approaches Earth closer than 0.2 AU, but occasionally makes close approaches to Mars of 0.07 AU. It makes one such approach in 2073, at 0.067 AU, and another one in 2103, at 0.094 AU. Due to 1999 CW8's relatively high inclination, although it passes closer to the Sun than the Earth (0.9 AU), it never comes closer than 0.2 AU.

    Based on an absolute magnitude of 18.6, and an assumed albedo of 0.159 (derived from the B-type asteroid 2 Pallas), the asteroid can be estimated to have a mean-diameter of approximately 640 meters.[3] If it impacted the Earth would cause significant damage, but not as much as the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event progenitor, which brought about a mass extinction, as it is only 1/20 to 1/10 the size. However, it is unlikely to come close enough to Earth to impact it, or even become a risk of impact.

    The orbit of 1999 CW8, showing its inclination above the plane of the Solar System

    See also

    References

    1. 1 2 3 4 5 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (1999 CW8)" (2009-08-01 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
    2. 1 2 "1999 CW8". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
    3. 1 2 "Asteroid Size Estimator". CNEOS – NASA/JPL. Retrieved 16 October 2017.

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