2022 AP₇ is a kilometer-sized Apollo asteroid and potentially hazardous object orbiting between Venus and Jupiter. It was discovered on 13 January 2022 by Scott Sheppard at Cerro Tololo Observatory. ^[1] Based on its absolute magnitude (H), 2022 AP₇ is likely the largest potentially hazardous object identified in the eight years prior to its 2022 discovery. ^{[4] [c]}

Discovery

2022 AP₇ was discovered as part of Sheppard's twilight survey for near-Earth asteroids interior to Earth and Venus, using Cerro Tololo Observatory's Dark Energy Camera. ^[1] Notable discoveries from this survey include the Atira asteroids 2021 LJ4 and 2021 PH27, the latter of which holds the record for the shortest orbital period of any known asteroid as of 2022 ^[update]. ^[4]

Orbit and classification

2022 AP₇ is considered "potentially hazardous" only because of its large size and low Earth minimum orbit intersection distance (MOID) just within 0.05  AU (7.5 million  km; 19  LD). ^{[3] [4]} However, the asteroid does not currently make notable close approaches to Earth because it is in a 1:5 near orbital resonance with Earth, ^[8] which means it nearly takes exactly 5.0 years to orbit the Sun in a highly elliptical orbit. ^[3] This resonance regularly puts it in positions where observational conditions are unfavorable; the asteroid is obscured by the Sun's glare when it becomes brightest near perihelion at low solar elongations and can be fainter at opposition when it is farther from Earth. ^[4] As a result, 2022 AP₇ could only be efficiently searched at twilight when at its brightest; the asteroid was 45 degrees from the Sun and 1.9 AU from Earth when it was discovered. ^{[4] [9]} The asteroid made its closest approach 1.5 AU from Earth in March 2022. The asteroid will not come this close to Earth again until March 2027. ^[10] By May 2022, when the asteroid was 1 AU from the Sun and near the ecliptic, Earth was on the other side of the Sun, 1.9 AU from the asteroid. ^[11]

The asteroid is not risk listed. 2022 AP₇'s orbit is well-determined and will guarantee only distant approaches beyond 1.1 AU (160 million km; 430 LD) of Jupiter over the next 146 years. ^{[3] [8]} The asteroid will also pass 0.16 AU (24 million km; 62 LD) from Mars on 9 May 2107. ^[12] Nominally the asteroid will not approach 1 AU from Earth until April 2332. ^[13] Over the next several centuries if not thousands of years, repeated perturbations by these encounters will eventually break the 1:5 near orbital resonance of 2022 AP₇, potentially leading to an impact with Earth. ^[14]

Notes

References

Sources

• Isaac Schultz (31 October 2022). "Scientists Find Potentially Hazardous Asteroid Hiding in the Sun's Glare". Gizmodo. At nearly 1.5 kilometers wide, it's the largest such asteroid discovered in eight years.
• Robin George Andrews (31 October 2022). "'Planet Killer' Asteroid Spotted That Poses Distant Risk to Earth". The New York Times.
• Ashley Strickland (31 October 2022). "'Planet killer' asteroid spotted hiding in the sun's glare". CNN.
• Scott S. Sheppard; et al. (29 September 2022), "A Deep and Wide Twilight Survey for Asteroids Interior to Earth and Venus", The Astronomical Journal, 164 (4), American Astronomical Society, doi: 10.3847/1538-3881/ac8cff, hdl: 10261/296405
• Tereza Pultarova (31 October 2022). "'Planet killer' asteroid found hiding in sun's glare may one day hit Earth". Space.com.
• Scott Gleeson; Jordan Mendoza (1 November 2022). "'Planet killer' asteroids nearly a mile long detected after being hidden by the sun's brightness". USA Today. 'It remains very far from Earth, kind of locked in a resonance that keeps it as being actually one of the most distant of the asteroids that we categorize as potentially hazardous.' ... 2022 AP7 is only projected to have close approaches to Mars and Jupiter in the next 145 years [not Earth].
• 2022 AP7 at the JPL Small-Body Database
  • Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit diagram · Orbital elements · Physical parameters

External links

• 2022 AP7 at Minor Planet Center