Discovered by LINEAR Observation arc 4778 days (13.08 yr) Discovered 7 November 2004 Spectral type E-type asteroid | Discovery date 7 November 2004 Orbital period 676 days Inclination 4.22348° Asteroid group Apollo asteroid | |
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Minor planet category Apollo asteroid,
Earth-crosser asteroid
Venus-crosser asteroid
Mars-crosser asteroid Aphelion 2.39574 AU (358.398 Gm) Perihelion 0.619854 AU (92.7288 Gm) Discoverer Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research Similar Solar System, 2007 VK184, 2004 XP14, (153814) 2001 WN5, 3103 Eger | ||
(144898) 2004 VD17 (previously known by its provisional designation 2004 VD17) is a near-Earth asteroid once thought to have a low probability of impacting Earth on May 4, 2102. From February to May 2006, it was listed with a Torino Scale impact risk value of 2, only the second asteroid in risk-monitoring history to be rated above value 1. The Torino rating was lowered to 1 after additional observations on May 20, 2006, and finally dropped to 0 on October 17, 2006. It was removed from the Sentry Risk Table on 14 February 2008.
As of January 4, 2008, the Sentry Risk Table assigned 2004 VD17 a Torino value of 0 and an impact probability of 1 in 58.8 million for May 4, 2102. This value was far below the background impact rate of objects this size.
2004 VD17 was discovered on November 7, 2004, by the NASA-funded LINEAR asteroid survey. The object is estimated by NASA's Near Earth Object Program Office to be 580 meters in diameter with an approximate mass of 2.6×1011 kg.
It will pass 0.02 AU (3,000,000 km; 1,900,000 mi) from the Earth on May 1, 2032, allowing a refinement to the orbit.
Being ~580 meters in diameter, if 2004 VD17 were to impact land, it would create an impact crater about 10 kilometres wide and generate an earthquake of magnitude 7.4.