Discovered by LINEAR Discovery date 18 October 2004 Alternative names 2004 UL | Discovery site Lincoln Lab's ETS MPC designation (374158) 2004 UL Discovered 18 October 2004 | |
Minor planet category Similar 4183 Cuno, 69230 Hermes, 2063 Bacchus, 1685 Toro, (33342) 1998 WT24 | ||
(374158) 2004 UL is an outstandingly eccentric asteroid, classified as near-Earth object and potentially hazardous asteroid. It is known for having the second-smallest perihelion of any known asteroid, after (137924) 2000 BD19. It measures between 0.5 and 1.2 kilometers in diameter and was discovered by the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) at Lincoln Lab's ETS on 18 October 2004.
The stony S-type asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 0.1–2.4 AU once every 1 years and 5 months (521 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.93 and an inclination of 24° with respect to the ecliptic.
In October 2014, a rotational light-curve for this asteroid was obtained from photometric observations by American astronomer Brian D. Warner at the Palmer Divide Station, California. It gave a relatively slow rotation period of 7001380000000000000♠38±2 hours with a high brightness variation of 1.2 in magnitude (U=2).
Due to its orbit, it is also a Mercury-crosser, Venus-crosser, Apollo and Mars-crosser.