Discovered by G. J. Garradd MPC designation (8201) 1994 AH2 Minor planet category Apollo · NEO Orbital period 1,475 days Orbits Sun Discovery site Siding Spring Observatory | Discovery date 5 January 1994 Alternative names 1994 AH2 Observation arc 34.86 yr (12,731 days) Discovered 5 January 1994 Discoverer Gordon J. Garradd Asteroid group Apollo asteroid | |
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(8201) 1994 AH2 is a highly eccentric, rare-type asteroid, classified as near-Earth object of the Apollo group of asteroids, approximately 2 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 5 January 1994, by Australian amateur astronomer Gordon Garradd during the AANEAS survey at the Siding Spring Observatory, Australia.
The rare O-type asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 0.7–4.3 AU once every 4.04 years (1,477 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.71 and an inclination of 10° with respect to the ecliptic. It has an Earth minimum orbital intersection distance of 0.1017 AU (15,200,000 km), which corresponds to 39 lunar distances. Due to its elongated orbit, it also approaches the orbit of Jupiter within 0.1022 AU (15,300,000 km). On 4 January 2079, it will pass 0.3595 AU (53,800,000 km) from the Earth. The first precovery was taken at the discovering observatory in 1981, extending the asteroid's observation arc by 13 years prior to its discovery.
In the late 1990s, Czech astronomer Petr Pravec obtained two rotational light-curves for this asteroid from photometric observations taken at the Ondřejov Observatory, Czech Republic. They gave a longer-than average rotation period of 7001239490000000000♠23.949 and 24 hours with a brightness variation of 0.27 and 0.3 magnitude, respectively (U=2/n.a.).
According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, the asteroid measures 1.86 kilometers in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.154. The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes an albedo of 0.18 and calculates a diameter of 2.17 kilometers, based on an absolute magnitude of 15.8. American astronomer Richard Binzel gives a diameter of 2.2 kilometers.