is a large near-Earth asteroid of the Apollo group. The asteroid was discovered by astronomers at the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research at the Lincoln Laboratory Experimental Test Site.
has been suggested to be a fragment of . The asteroid does not appear to be a member of the Phaethon-Geminid complex.
Orbit and classification orbits the sun on a highly eccentric orbit at a distance between 0.24 AU and 2.60 AU, about every 1.7 years. Its perihelion is within the orbit of Mercury, making the asteroid a Mercury-crosser. The asteroid is an Apollo asteroid, which means its perihelion is within Earth's orbit and has a semi-major axis larger than 1 AU. Despite 's large size, the asteroid is not considered to be a potentially hazardous object due to its minimum orbital intersection distance being 0.25 AU, greater than the 0.05 AU maximum needed.
's observation arc begins with a precovery taken at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory on 27 November 1999, 20 days before the official discovery observation made by LINEAR.
Physical characteristics is a C-type asteroid.
Measurements from WISE have measured the asteroid's albedo to be between 0.067 and 0.121, corresponding to a size of between 1.5 and 1.8 kilometers.
Formation Like most asteroids, it is believed to have formed from the primordial solar nebula as fragments of planetesimals—material in the early Solar System that was not massive enough to become a planet.
See also , another fragment of Geminids
References
External links List of Apollo asteroids – International Astronomical Union Minor Planet Center.