2006 SU49

Minor Planet
name=mp|2006 SU|49
discoverer=Spacewatch 0.9m telescope
discovery_date=September 20, 2006
designations="none"
category=Apollo asteroid,
Earth-crosser asteroid
Mars-crosser asteroid
epoch=September 26, 2006 (MJD 54004.1)
semimajor= 1.41277 AU
perihelion= 0.9714 AU
aphelion= 1.8541 AU
eccentricity= 0.312416
period= 613.355 days
inclination= 2.522°
asc_node= 303.28°
arg_peri= 198.869°
mean_anomaly= 241.656°
speed= ? m/s
dimensions= 0.380 km
mass= 7.4e|10 kg
density= 2.6 g/cm³
gravity= ? m/s²
escape_velocity= ? km/s
rotation= ? d
spectral_class= ?
abs_mag= 19.581
albedo= ?
temperature= ? K

mp|2006 SU|49 (also written 2006 SU49) is a near-Earth asteroid with a low but non-zero probability of impacting Earth in 2029. As of October 29, 2006 it was listed with a Torino Scale impact risk value of 0.

mp|2006 SU|49 is a near-Earth asteroid that caused a brief period of minor concern in late September and early October 2006 because initial observations indicated a higher than usual probability that it would strike the Earth in 2029. However, the Near Earth Object (NEO) Office at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) removed 2006 SU49 from its risk list as additional observations provided improved predictions that eliminated the possibility of an impact on Earth or the Moon through 2106. Similarly, NEODyS estimates show a zero impact probability through 2080.

mp|2006 SU|49 briefly led the Earth-impact hazard list from September 27, 2006 through October 4, 2006 temporarily displacing 2004 VD17 from the number one position. At the time, both held a Torino scale of level 1 and were the only listed asteroids (other than 1950 DA) to hold a Torino value greater than 0.

mp|2006 SU|49 was discovered on September 20, 2006 by the Spacewatch project at the University of Arizona. The object is estimated at 380 meters in diameter with a mass of about 7.4x10¹⁰ kg.

ee also

*List of noteworthy asteroids
*Asteroid deflection strategies
*Asteroid naming conventions

External links

* [http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/risk Near Earth Object Program Risk List]
* [http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/risk/removed.html Near Earth Objects removed from JPL risk tables]
* [http://newton.dm.unipi.it/cgi-bin/neodys/neoibo?objects:2006SU49;main mp|2006 SU|49 object data]
* [http://spacewatch.lpl.arizona.edu The Spacewatch Project]
* [http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/mpc.html The Minor Planet Center]