(459883) 2014 JX55 is an asteroid from the central regions of the asteroid belt. After its first observations as 2007 EB26 in 2007, it was considered an inner heliospheric asteroid and near-Earth object with one of the closest perihelions ever observed of any body orbiting the Sun,[4] until further observations invalidated the conclusions from early observations. The object measures approximately 2.8 kilometers (1.7 miles) in diameter.
| Discovery[1][2] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | WISE |
| Discovery site | WISE |
| Discovery date | 28 June 2010 |
| Designations | |
| (459883) 2014 JX55 | |
| 2014 JX55 · 2007 EB26 2010 MV87 | |
| main-belt[1][2] · (middle) | |
| Orbital characteristics[2] | |
| Epoch 27 April 2019 (JD 2458600.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 11.24 yr (4,106 d) |
| Aphelion | 3.0725 AU |
| Perihelion | 2.1810 AU |
| 2.6267 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1697 |
| 4.26 yr (1,555 d) | |
| 51.957° | |
| 0° 13m 53.4s / day | |
| Inclination | 32.070° |
| 271.86° | |
| 32.457° | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 2.8 km (est. at 0.1)[3] | |
| 15.9[1][2] | |
Orbit and classification
Inner heliospheric asteroid
When the object was first observed as 2007 EB26 by the Mount Lemmon Survey in March 2007, it was considered to have the second-smallest positive semi-major axis (0.55 AU) of any known object orbiting the Sun, after Mercury. It was classified as an Apohele asteroid, which always stay inside of Earth's orbit, approaching within 0.116 AU (17,400,000 km; 10,800,000 mi) of the Sun approximately every 148 days, before leaving for a distance of 0.98 AU, making it a Mercury- and Venus-crossing asteroid.[4] If these early orbital calculations had not turned out to be wrong, the object would still rank today among the inner heliospheric asteroids with the smallest known perihelia.[5]
Orbital determination as main-belt asteroid
The object remained listed as an inner heliospheric asteroid for several years,[6] until identifications with 2010 MV87 and 2014 JX55 and a subsequent improvement of the orbital uncertainty completely overturned previous calculations. 2014 JX55 is now a secured central main-belt asteroid orbiting the Sun at a distance of 2.2–3.1 AU once every 4 years and 3 months (1,555 days; semi-major axis of 2.63 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.17 and an inclination of 32° with respect to the ecliptic.[2][7]
References
External links
- Atira 2007 EB26
- Asteroids On An Inside Track, Al Grauer
- Dawn of Small Worlds: Dwarf Planets, Asteroids, Comets – Atira group, p.34, Michael Moltenbrey
- Asteroid 2007 EB26 Near-Mercury Flyby (0.020 AU), icalshare.com
- Could there be objects orbiting interior to Mercury?, curious.astro.cornell.edu
- Jerusalem Girls Win the Telescope, weizmann-usa.org, March 2016
- Current
- Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (455001)-(460000) – Minor Planet Center
- (459883) 2014 JX55 at AstDyS-2, Asteroids—Dynamic Site
- (459883) 2014 JX55 at the JPL Small-Body Database
