4179 Toutatis
Near-Earth asteroid of the Apollo and Alinda group / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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4179 Toutatis (provisional designation 1989 AC) is an elongated, stony asteroid and slow rotator,[11] classified as a near-Earth object and potentially hazardous asteroid of the Apollo asteroid group, approximately 2.5 kilometers in diameter. Discovered by French astronomer Christian Pollas at Caussols in 1989, the asteroid was named after Toutatis from Celtic mythology.[1][2]
Discovery [1] | |
---|---|
Discovered by | Christian Pollas |
Discovery site | Caussols |
Discovery date | 4 January 1989 |
Designations | |
(4179) Toutatis | |
Pronunciation | /taʊˈteɪtɪs/ |
Named after | Toutatis (Celtic mythology)[2] |
| |
Adjectives | Toutatian[4] |
Orbital characteristics [3] | |
Epoch 27 November 2008 (JD 2454797.5) | |
Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
Observation arc | 83.29 yr (30,422 days) |
Earliest precovery date | 10 February 1934 |
Aphelion | 4.1242 AU |
Perihelion | 0.9399 AU |
2.5321 AU | |
Eccentricity | 0.6288 |
4.03 yr (1,472 days) | |
5.1220° | |
0° 14m 40.56s / day | |
Inclination | 0.4460° |
124.30° | |
278.75° | |
Earth MOID | 0.0064 AU (2.5 LD) |
Physical characteristics | |
Dimensions | |
Mean diameter | 2.45 km[6] |
Mass | 1.9×1013 kg[7] |
Mean density | 2.5 g/cm3[7] |
176 h (7.3 d)[8] | |
0.13[3] | |
Sk (SMASSII)[3] | |
8.8–22.4[9][10] | |
15.30[3] | |
Toutatis is also a Mars-crosser asteroid with a chaotic orbit produced by a 3:1 resonance with the planet Jupiter, a 1:4 resonance with the planet Earth, and frequent close approaches to the terrestrial planets, including Earth.[12] In December 2012, Toutatis passed within about 18 lunar distances of Earth. The Chinese lunar probe Chang'e 2 flew by the asteroid at a distance of 3.2 kilometers and a relative velocity of 10.73 km/s.[13] Toutatis approached Earth again in 2016, but will not make another notably close approach until 2069.[14]