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Near-Earth asteroid 363305 (2002 NV16) is a rapidly rotating Apollo-class object making close approaches to Earth, raising concerns about potential impacts in the future.
Apollo-Class Asteroid 2002 NV16 Makes Its Close Approach.(Image Credit: Meta AI x Pragya Singha Roy/News9)
New Delhi: The asteroid 363305 (2002 NV16) was identified on July 13, 2002, by the LINEAR project located in Socorro and belongs to Apollo type NEO and PHA. Generally, this asteroid does not significantly draw the attention of observers while present in the sky owing to its close approach, though by the last observation it was still an object of interest.
Specific aspects of the objects’ orbital position can be summed up with the overall period of approximately 503.658 days; the next perihelion is expected on September 29, 2024.
It is a relatively close asteroid to Earth, and the least distance recorded from the two was 4291370 km on 15 October 1911. They are crucial for trying to reconstruct the asteroid’s motion and for assessing its future threats, possibly if any.
As to the absolute magnitude, it is 21.40, which unambiguously categorises 363305 (2002 NV16) as rather dim in its glow and difficult to photograph through normal telescopes. The rotation period of the asteroid is estimated to be around 0.91 hours, which is relatively short and may affect the asteroid’s shape and the physical characteristics of the surface.
The last observations of the asteroid were made on the 27th of June, 2024, and the total number of observations used for the orbital and physical characteristics of the asteroid is 426. Such a long data arc that almost reached 22 years has led to the condition code 0, meaning that the asteroid’s future path has a high confidence level.
Since 363305 (2002 NV16) belongs to both classes, NEO and PHA, it remains an object of concern to astronomers and planetary protection enthusiasts. Its further tracking remains important to anticipate its future behaviour concerning the Earth and evaluate such threats as their possible impact.
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