(231937) 2001 FO32

(231937) 2001 FO32
Radar images of 2001 FO32 from Goldstone on 22 March 2021
Discovery[1][2]
Discovered byLINEAR
Discovery siteLincoln Lab ETS
Discovery date23 March 2001
Designations
2001 FO32
NEO · Apollo · PHA[3]
Orbital characteristics[3]
Epoch 17 December 2020 (JD 2459200.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc20.00 yr (7,304 days)
Aphelion3.106 AU
Perihelion0.2958 AU
1.701 AU
Eccentricity0.82613
2.22 yr
299.160°
0° 26m 39.193s / day
Inclination38.982°
181.732°
2 May 2021 23:01 UT[3]
123.314°
Earth MOID0.00375 AU (561,000 km)
Mercury MOID0.03566 AU (5,335,000 km)[1]
Venus MOID0.07461 AU (11,161,000 km)[1]
Physical characteristics
550±110 m[3]
39.89±0.05 hr[4]
Sr[5]
15.0 (current)[6]
17.7[3][1]

(231937) 2001 FO32 is a near-Earth asteroid classified as a potentially hazardous asteroid of the Apollo group. With an estimated diameter around 550 m (1,800 ft), it was discovered by the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research at Socorro, New Mexico on 23 March 2001. The asteroid safely passed by Earth on 21 March 2021 16:03 UTC from a closest approach distance of 0.0135 AU (2.02 million km; 1.25 million mi), or 5.25 lunar distances (LD). During the day before closest approach, 2001 FO32 reached a peak apparent magnitude of 11.7 and was visible to ground-based observers with telescope apertures of at least 20 cm (8 in).[7][8] It is the largest and one of the fastest asteroids to approach Earth within 10 LD (3.8 million km; 2.4 million mi) in 2021.[8][9]

With an observation arc of 20 years, 2001 FO32 has a well-determined orbit, and its trajectory is well known through the year 2196.[3] The asteroid's orbit is only potentially hazardous on a time scale of thousands of years.

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  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference MPEC-2001-F30 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b c d e f Cite error: The named reference jpldata was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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  8. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference EarthSky was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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