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2201 Oljato, provisional designation 1947 XC, is a stony and extremely eccentric active asteroid and sizable near-Earth object of the Apollo group, approximately 2 kilometers in diameter. It has an Earth minimum orbit intersection distance of 0.0031 AU (460 thousand km) and is associated with the Beta Taurids daytime meteor shower.

Discovery

Oljato was discovered by American astronomer Henry L. Giclas at the U.S Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, on 12 December 1947. After its discovery, this near-Earth Apollo asteroid became a lost asteroid for 32 years and was recovered under the provisional designation 1979 XA, by the American astronomers Passey and Bus at the Californian Palomar Observatory in 1979.

Orbit and classification

Oljato is a member of the Apollo asteroids, a subgroup of near-Earth asteroids which cross the orbit of Earth. It is also a potentially hazardous object due to its size and its Earth minimum orbit intersection distance (MOID) of 0.0031 AU (460,000 km), which is only about 1.2 lunar distances . It orbits the Sun at a distance of 0.6–3.7 AU once every 3 years and 3 months (1,172 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.71 and an inclination of 3° with respect to the ecliptic.

It was a target of Hubble search for transition comets, a spectroscopic study involving amateur astronomers and the use of the Hubble Space Telescope. The asteroid belongs to the Taurid Complex (also see Taurids), a group of near-Earth asteroids thought to be extinct cometary nuclei, that are associated with four meteor showers on Earth, due to their disintegration. The Taurid Complex includes several other Apollo asteroids such as 4183 Cuno, 4341 Poseidon, 5143 Heracles, and 5731 Zeus.

Close approaches

The next notable close approach to Earth will be on 28 November 2024, passing at a nominal distance of 0.47 AU (70,000,000 km; 44,000,000 mi). Due to the eccentricity of its orbit, Earth is not the only planet it passes. In 2044 it will pass close to Venus (on 24 Apr at 0.08 AU) as well as Earth (on 30 May at 0.129 AU), and in 2046 it will pass Jupiter (on 15 Jan at 1.4 AU). However, although it crosses the orbit of Mars, it will pass Earth, Venus and Jupiter several times before the next notable close approach to Mars, which will not be until 30 July 2127, passing at a nominal distance of 0.0306 AU (4,580,000 km; 2,840,000 mi)

Physical characteristics

Oljato has a rotation period of 26 hours. The stony asteroid is classified as a Sq-subtype in the SMASS taxonomic scheme, with a geometric albedo of 0.24. An alternative and exceptionally high albedo of 0.43 was determined by 11 observations from the Infrared Astronomical Satellite, IRAS.

Naming

This minor planet was named after the Oljato–Monument Valley in Utah, on the Navajo Indian Reservation. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 28 March 1983 (M.P.C. 7782).

Notes

1. ^ Pravec (1995) web: rotation period 26 hours with a brightness amplitude of 0.1 mag. Summary figures for (2201) Oljato at Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link (CALL)

References

1. ^ "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 2201 Oljato (1947 XC)" (2016-10-25 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
2. ^ Schmadel, Lutz D. (2007). "(2201) Oljato". Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 179. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7_2202. ISBN 978-3540002383.
3. ^ "2201 Oljato (1947 XC)". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
4. ^ Tedesco, E. F.; Noah, P. V.; Noah, M.; Price, S. D. (October 2004). "IRAS Minor Planet Survey V6.0". NASA Planetary Data System. 12: IRAS-A-FPA-3-RDR-IMPS-V6.0. Bibcode:2004PDSS...12.....T. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
5. ^ Harris, Alan W. (February 1998). "A Thermal Model for Near-Earth Asteroids". Icarus. 131 (2): 291–301. Bibcode:1998Icar..131..291H. doi:10.1006/icar.1997.5865. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
6. ^ Harris, A. W.; Young, J. W. (April 1983). "Asteroid rotation. IV". Icarus. 54 (1): 59–109. Bibcode:1983Icar...54...59H. doi:10.1016/0019-1035(83)90072-6. ISSN 0019-1035. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
7. ^ Veres, Peter; Jedicke, Robert; Fitzsimmons, Alan; Denneau, Larry; Granvik, Mikael; Bolin, Bryce; et al. (November 2015). "Absolute magnitudes and slope parameters for 250,000 asteroids observed by Pan-STARRS PS1 – Preliminary results". Icarus. 261: 34–47. arXiv:1506.00762. Bibcode:2015Icar..261...34V. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2015.08.007. S2CID 53493339. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
8. ^ "LCDB Data for (2201) Oljato". Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB). Retrieved 7 December 2016.
9. ^ Carry, B.; Solano, E.; Eggl, S.; DeMeo, F. E. (April 2016). "Spectral properties of near-Earth and Mars-crossing asteroids using Sloan photometry". Icarus. 268: 340–354. arXiv:1601.02087. Bibcode:2016Icar..268..340C. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2015.12.047. S2CID 119258489. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
10. Jewitt, David; Hsieh, Henry; Agarwal, Jessica (2015). "The Active Asteroids" (PDF). In Michel, P.; et al. (eds.). Asteroids IV. University of Arizona. pp. 221–241. arXiv:1502.02361. Bibcode:2015aste.book..221J. doi:10.2458/azu_uapress_9780816532131-ch012. ISBN 978-0816532131. S2CID 45208650. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
11. Babadzhanov, P. B. (2001). "Search for meteor showers associated with Near-Earth Asteroids". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 373 (1): 329–335. Bibcode:2001A&A...373..329B. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20010583.
12. "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 7 December 2016.

External links

• Search for meteor showers associated with Near-Earth Asteroids – P. B. Babadzhanov, 2001
• Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB), query form (info Archived 16 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine)
• Dictionary of Minor Planet Names, Google books
• Asteroids and comets rotation curves, CdR – Observatoire de Genève, Raoul Behrend
• 2201 Oljato at NeoDyS-2, Near Earth Objects—Dynamic Site
  • Ephemerides · Observation prediction · Orbital info · MOID · Proper elements · Observational info · Close approaches · Physical info · Orbit animation
• 2201 Oljato at ESA–space situational awareness
  • Ephemerides · Observations · Orbit · Physical properties · Summary
• 2201 Oljato at the JPL Small-Body Database
  • Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit viewer · Orbit parameters · Physical parameters

• Minor planet object articles (numbered)
• Apollo asteroids
• Active asteroids
• Discoveries by Henry L. Giclas
• Discoveries by the Lowell Observatory
• Named minor planets
• Potentially hazardous asteroids
• Sq-type asteroids (SMASS)
• Astronomical objects discovered in 1947