2009 VA
Near-Earth asteroid
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
2009 VA is an asteroid that came within 14,000 kilometres (8,700 mi) of Earth on 6 November 2009 making it the third closest non-impacting approach of a cataloged asteroid.[3]
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Catalina Sky Survey |
| Discovery date | 6 November 2009 |
| Designations | |
| none | |
| Apollo (NEO) | |
| Orbital characteristics[1] | |
| Epoch 6 November 2009 (JD 2455141.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 9 | |
| Observation arc | 3 hours[2] |
| Aphelion | 1.93 AU |
| Perihelion | 0.9177 AU |
| 1.43 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.357 |
| 1.71 yr | |
| 339° | |
| 0° 34m 39.396s /day | |
| Inclination | 7.5° |
| 224.5° | |
| 224° | |
| Earth MOID | 0.00013 AU (19,000 km) |
| Jupiter MOID | 3.3 AU |
| Physical characteristics | |
| ~6 meters[2] | |
| 28.6 | |
With a diameter of only 7 metres (23 ft), scientists think that even if it had been on a direct collision course with Earth, it would have likely burned up in the atmosphere.[4] The space rock made its pass by Earth just fifteen hours after its discovery.[5]
The asteroid was first discovered by the Catalina Sky Survey at the University of Arizona. It was determined that the object would make a pass well within the orbit of the Moon, but would not strike Earth. The object passed so close to Earth that its orbit was modified by Earth's gravity.[5]
2025 virtual impactor
The asteroid only has a very short observation arc of 3 hours and has not been observed since 2009 (16 years ago).[2] Given the short arc, long term predictions of the asteroids position over many years are poorly constrained. It is listed on the Sentry Risk Table with a 1 in 48,000 chance of an Earth impact on 6 November 2025.[2]
See also
- 2008 TC3
- 2010 RF12, 2010 RX30, 2010 TD54 - a similar-sized asteroids that passed Earth in 2010
- List of notable asteroids#Record-setting close approaches to Earth for other, closer approaches
- List of asteroid close approaches to Earth in 2009
