2019 AQ3

2019 AQ3
Orbital diagram of 2019 AQ3, as viewed from the ecliptic pole
Discovery [1][2]
Discovered byZwicky Transient Facility
Discovery sitePalomar Obs.
Discovery date4 January 2019
(first observed only)
Designations
2019 AQ3
NEO · Atira [1][3]
Orbital characteristics [3]
Epoch 27 April 2019 (JD 2460200.5)
Uncertainty parameter 1[1]
Observation arc8.20 yr (2,296 d)
Aphelion0.7737 AU
Perihelion0.4037 AU
0.5887 AU
Eccentricity0.3143
164.97 days
10.152°
2° 10m 55.92s / day
Inclination47.220°
64.4807°
163.157°
Earth MOID0.2267 AU (88.22 LD)
Mercury MOID0.0549 AU
Venus MOID0.0384 AU
Physical characteristics
1+ km (est.)[1]
0.9–2.0 km (at 0.05–0.25)[4]
1.4 km (est. at 0.08)[5]
17.4[1][3]

2019 AQ3 is an inclined near-Earth object of the small Atira group from the innermost region of the Solar System, estimated to measure 1.4 kilometers (0.9 miles) in diameter. Among the hundreds of thousands known asteroids, 2019 AQ3's orbit was thought to have likely the smallest semi-major axis (0.589 AU) and aphelion (0.77 AU), that is, the orbit's average distance and farthest point from the Sun, respectively.[6] The object was first observed on 4 January 2019, by astronomers at Palomar's Zwicky Transient Facility in California, with recovered images dating back to 2015.[1][2]

The record for smallest semi-major axis was beaten by another asteroid, 2019 LF6, with 0.555 AU.[7]

  1. ^ a b c d e f Cite error: The named reference MPC-object was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference MPEC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference jpldata was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference ESA-NEO-center was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference h was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference jpl-query-Q was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ de la Fuente Marcos, Carlos; de la Fuente Marcos, Raúl (25 July 2019). "Hot and Eccentric: The Discovery of 2019 LF6 as a New Step in the Quest for the Vatira Population". Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society. 3 (7): 106. Bibcode:2019RNAAS...3g.106D. doi:10.3847/2515-5172/ab346c.