1989 VA
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by |
C. S. Shoemaker E. M. Shoemaker D. H. Levy |
| Discovery site | Palomar Obs. |
| Discovery date | 2 November 1989 |
| Designations | |
| MPC designation | (99907) 1989 VA |
| NEO · Aten · Mercury-grazer · Venus-crosser · Earth-crosser | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch 16 February 2017 (JD 2457800.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 26.16 yr (9,555 days) |
| Aphelion | 1.1616 AU |
| Perihelion | 0.2952 AU |
| 0.7284 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.5947 |
| 0.62 yr (227 days) | |
| 122.20° | |
| 1° 35m 7.44s / day | |
| Inclination | 28.800° |
| 225.60° | |
| 2.8441° | |
| Earth MOID | 0.1555 AU |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 0.547 km (derived) 0.55±0.06 km 1.4 km |
| 2.514 h (0.1048 d) | |
| 0.3718 (derived) 0.40±0.30 |
|
| SMASS = Sq · S | |
| 17.9 | |
(99907) 1989 VA is a very eccentric, stony asteroid and near-Earth object, about 1 kilometer in diameter. It was discovered by American astronomer couple Carolyn and Eugene Shoemaker and Canadian astronomer David Levy at the U.S Palomar Observatory on Mount Palomar, California, on 2 November 1989. It is a member of the Aten asteroid, a subgroup of near-Earth object, that are located in Venus'es zone of influence. It has frequent, relatively close encounters with the Earth, as its minimum orbit intersection distance (MOID) is 0.16 AU or about 23 million kilometers. It was the eighth Aten asteroid discovered. Since then the number of Atens has grown to about one thousand known bodies.
The S-type asteroid – classified as a Sq-subtype in the SMASS taxonomy – orbits the Sun with a short orbital period at a distance of 0.3–1.2 AU once every 227 days. The body rotates every two and a half hours around its axis and has a notably high albedo of about 0.40. Its orbit is tilted by 29 degrees to the plane of the ecliptic. With an exceptionally high eccentricity of 0.59, it was the most eccentric Aten asteroid known at the time of discovery, more eccentric than previously discovered Aten, 3753 Cruithne. Since then, more eccentric Atens – such as (162004) 1991 VE, with an eccentricity of 0.665 – have been discovered. Due to this elongated orbit, the Aten asteroid and near-Earth asteroid also classifies as Earth-crosser, Venus-crosser and Mercury-grazer.
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