(524522) 2002 VE₆₈

It was discovered on 11 November 2002 at Lowell Observatory. As of February 2013, 2002 VE₆₈ has been observed telescopically 457 times with a data-arc span of 2,947 days and it was the target of Doppler observations in 5 occasions; therefore, its orbit is very well determined. Its semi-major axis of 0.7237 AU is very similar to that of Venus but its eccentricity is rather large (0.4104) and its orbital inclination is also significant (9.0060°). The spectrum of 2002 VE₆₈ implies that it is an X-type asteroid and hence an albedo of about 0.25 should be assumed.[7] The body is calculated to measure 236 meters in diameters. Its rotational period is 13.5 hours and its light curve has an amplitude of 0.9 mag which hints at a very elongated body, perhaps a contact binary.[7]

The existence of retrograde satellites or quasi-satellites was first considered by J. Jackson in 1913[8] but none was discovered until almost 100 years later.[6] 2002 VE₆₈ was the first quasi-satellite to be discovered, in 2002, although it was not immediately recognized as such. 2002 VE₆₈ was identified as a quasi-satellite of Venus by Seppo Mikkola, Ramon Brasser, Paul A. Wiegert and Kimmo Innanen in 2004, two years after the actual discovery of the object.[5][6] From the perspective of a hypothetical observer in a frame of reference rotating with Venus, it appears to travel around the planet during one Venusian year although it does not orbit Venus but the Sun like any other asteroid. As quasi-satellite, this minor body is trapped in a 1:1 mean-motion resonance with Venus. Besides being a Venus co-orbital, this Aten asteroid is also a Mercury grazer and an Earth crosser. 2002 VE₆₈ exhibits resonant (or near-resonant) behavior with Mercury, Venus and Earth.[9][10] It seems to have been co-orbital with Venus for only the last 7,000 years, and is destined to be ejected from this orbital arrangement about 500 years from now.[6] During this time, its distance to Venus has been and will remain larger than about 0.2 AU (3·10⁷ km).

2002 VE₆₈ is included in the Minor Planet Center list of Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs) because it comes relatively frequently to within 0.05 AU of Earth. Approaches as close as 0.04 AU occur with a periodicity of 8 years due to its near 8:13 resonance with Earth.[9] 2002 VE₆₈ was discovered during the close approaches of 11 November 2002. During the last close encounter on 7 November 2010, 2002 VE₆₈ approached Earth within 0.035 AU (13.6 Lunar distances), brightening below 15th magnitude. Its next fly-by with Earth happened on 4 November 2018 at 0.038 AU (5,700,000 km; 3,500,000 mi).[11] Numerical simulations indicate that an actual collision with Earth during the next 10,000 years is not likely, although dangerously close approaches to about 0.002 AU are possible, a distance potentially within Earth's Hill sphere.[9]

This minor planet was numbered by the Minor Planet Center on 18 May 2019 (M.P.C. 114620).[12] As of 2020, it has not been named.[1]

• (322756) 2001 CK32
• 2012 XE133
• 2013 ND15

Further reading

• Retrograde satellite orbits, by Jackson, J. 1913, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 74, pp. 62–82.
• Understanding the Distribution of Near-Earth Asteroids Bottke, W. F., Jedicke, R., Morbidelli, A., Petit, J.-M., Gladman, B. 2000, Science, Vol. 288, Issue 5474, pp. 2190–2194.
• A Numerical Survey of Transient Co-orbitals of the Terrestrial Planets Christou, A. A. 2000, Icarus, Vol. 144, Issue 1, pp. 1–20.
• Debiased Orbital and Absolute Magnitude Distribution of the Near-Earth Objects Bottke, W. F., Morbidelli, A., Jedicke, R., Petit, J.-M., Levison, H. F., Michel, P., Metcalfe, T. S. 2002, Icarus, Vol. 156, Issue 2, pp. 399–433.
• Asteroid 2002 VE68, a quasi-satellite of Venus, by Mikkola, S., Brasser, R., Wiegert, P., & Innanen, K. 2004, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 351, Issue 3, pp. L63-L65.
• Transient co-orbital asteroids Brasser, R., Innanen, K. A., Connors, M., Veillet, C., Wiegert, P., Mikkola, S., Chodas, P. W. 2004, Icarus, Vol. 171, Issue 1, pp. 102–109.
• The population of Near Earth Asteroids in coorbital motion with Venus Morais, M. H. M., Morbidelli, A. 2006, Icarus, Vol. 185, Issue 1, pp. 29–38.
• On the dynamical evolution of 2002 VE68, by de la Fuente Marcos, Carlos; & de la Fuente Marcos, Raúl (2012), Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 427, Issue 1, pp. 728–739.
• Asteroid 2012 XE133: a transient companion to Venus de la Fuente Marcos, Carlos; de la Fuente Marcos, Raúl (2013), Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 432, Issue 2, pp. 886–893.

• List Of Aten Minor Planets, Minor Planet Center
• List of Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs)
• Image acquired during the last 2002 VE68 close approach, 7 November 2010 (Martin Mobberley's Astronomical Images web site)
• Light curve (Ondřejov NEO Photometric Program)
• 2002 VE68 Goldstone Radar Observations
• (524522) 2002 VE68 at NeoDyS-2, Near Earth Objects—Dynamic Site
  • Ephemeris · Obs prediction · Orbital info · MOID · Proper elements · Obs info · Close · Physical info · NEOCC
• (524522) 2002 VE68 at ESA–space situational awareness
  • Ephemerides · Observations · Orbit · Physical Properties · Summary
• (524522) 2002 VE68 at the JPL Small-Body Database
  • Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit diagram · Orbital elements · Physical parameters