2021 AF8
Discovered on May 5, 2014 by A. D. Grauer at the Mt. Lemmon Survey. Included in the list of the "Potentially Hazardous Asteroids" of the Minor Planet Center.
Orbital and Physical Characteristics
| Epoch | 2020 Dec 17 |
| Mean Anomaly | 315.86608° |
| Argument of Perihelion | 168.95110° |
| Longitude of Ascending Node | 42.56721° |
| Inclination | 9.69780° |
| Eccentricity | 0.5151605 |
| Semimajor Axis | 2.0181357 AU |
| Orbital Period | 2.87 years |
MOID |
0.02331 AU |
| Orbit type | Apollo |
| Absolute Magnitude | 20.21 |
| Diameter | ~300 m |
| Rotation period | ~6.0 h [1] |
Radar scattering properties
SC/OC |
~0.38 [1] |
| Radar albedo | ~0.1 [1] |
Close Approach to the Earth
| Date of encounter | 2021 May 04 | |
| Distance | 0.02246 AU (8.7 lunar distances) |
Observation Schedule
| Date | Window, UT | Receiver |
Transmitter |
Frequency, MHz |
λ, cm |
Ptx, kW |
R, au |
RTT, sec |
SNR/RTT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 May 3 | 15:01 - 16:05 | RT-32 (Sv) | DSS-14 [2] | 8560.0 | 3.5 | 440 | 0.02296 | 23 | 3 |
Echo power spectrum
Monostatic DSS-14 continuous wave echo power spectra of 2021 AF8 obtained at Svetloe observatory with RT-32 radio telescope on May 3, 2021 from 15:01 to 15:14 UT. Solid and dashed lines denote echo power in the opposite circular (OC) and same circular (SC) polarizations as that of the transmitted wave. The obtained power spectra were used to estimate the asteroid rotation period ~6 h, the сircular polarization ratio of ~0.38 as well as the radar albedo of ~0.1.
Remarks
Yu. Bondarenko et al., 2021.
We thank L. A. Benner and the technical staff at Goldstone for the help with the radar observations.