Alternative names none Discovered 20 October 1993 Orbits Sun | Discovery date 20 October 1993 Minor planet category Apollo NEO Absolute magnitude 15.1 Discoverer Robert H. McNaught Asteroid group Apollo asteroid | |
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Aphelion 4.0540 AU (606.47 Gm) (Q) Perihelion 0.81827 AU (122.411 Gm) (q) Similar Sun, 2013 YP139, Nova Centauri 2013, Solar System, (285263) 1998 QE2 | ||
(7888) 1993 UC is a near-Earth minor planet in the Apollo group. It was discovered by Robert H. McNaught at the Siding Spring Observatory in Coonabarabran, New South Wales, Australia, on October 20, 1993. The asteroid has an observation arc of 23 years and has a well determined orbit. Its estimated size is 2.3 to 5.2 km.
On March 20, 2013, the asteroid passed 49 lunar distances or 0.12598 AU (18,846,000 km; 11,711,000 mi) from Earth at a relative velocity of 21.8 km/s (49,000 mph). The approach posed no threat to Earth. (7888) 1993 UC is not classified as a potentially hazardous asteroid (PHA) because its Earth MOID (Minimum Orbit Intersection Distance) is only 0.089 AU, and only objects with an Earth MOID less than 0.05 AU are considered PHAs.
It was discovered to be a binary asteroid by Arecibo Observatory in March 2013.
On April 29, 2146, the asteroid will pass 0.0346 AU (5,180,000 km; 3,220,000 mi) from asteroid 4 Vesta.