Título de la noticia: Goldstone Radar Observations Planning: 2014 HQ124
Background
2014 HQ124 was discovered on Apr. 23 by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) spacecraft. Preliminary thermal modeling of the WISE data by A. K. Mainzer suggests a diameter of 330 meters. This asteroid will approach within 0.0083 AU (3.2 lunar distances) on June 8 when it will be the strongest radar target of the year to date. This is the closest approach that an object of this size has made since 2005 YU55 in November of 2011. The diameter and absolute magnitude of 19.2 suggest a relatively high optical albedo of about 0.35. The spectral class is unknown, but it's clear that this is not a dark C-, P, B-, or D-type object due to the albedo. The rotation period and pole direction are unknown, but the asteroid will be bright enough for lightcurves so it's possible that the rotation period may be measured before the radar observations start. 2014 HQ124 will approach from the south and enter Goldstone's declination window on June 7. After the approach, the asteroid will move more or less directly away from Earth. We estimate that the Goldstone signal-to-noise ratios will be strong enough for detailed imaging for several days. On June 8, the round-trip travel time is only about 8 seconds so we have scheduled DSS-13 to receive. Currently observations at Goldstone are scheduled only on June 8. Arecibo observations are also scheduled on June 8 and the times at the two telescopes overlap. The Minor Planet Center has classified 2014 HQ124 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid."
Orbital and Physical Characteristics Provisional Designation 2014 HQ124 Asteroid number Not numbered Discoverer WISE Discovery date 2014 Apr 23 orbit type Aten Close approach dist. 0.0083 AU Close approach dist. 3.2 lunar distances Close approach date June 8 semimajor axis 0.851 AU eccentricity 0.260 inclination 26.2 deg perihelion distance 0.630 AU aphelion distance 1.072 AU Tisserand parameter absolute magnitude (H) 19.2 diameter 330 m +- 85 m (A. K. Mainzer, pers. comm.) optical albedo unknown rotation period unknown pole direction unknown lightcurve amplitude unknown spectral class unknown Last update: 2014 May 21
Fuente:
echo (PUNTO) jpl (PUNTO) NASA (punto) gov/asteroids/2014HQ124/2014HQ124_planning (punto)html
