Discovered by LINEAR Discovery date 2 December 2008 Alternative names 2008 XM Discovered 2 December 2008 Asteroid group Apollo asteroid | Discovery site Lincoln Lab's ETS MPC designation (386454) 2008 XM Minor planet category Apollo · NEO · PHA Absolute magnitude 20 | |
Discoverer Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research | ||
(386454) 2008 XM is an outstandingly eccentric, small asteroid, with one of the smallest known perihelions among all minor planets. It is classified as near-Earth object of the Apollo group and potentially hazardous asteroid, and measures approximately 370 meters in diameter. It was discovered on 2 December 2008, by the U.S. LINEAR program at Lincoln Laboratory's Experimental Test Site in Socorro, New Mexico.
The asteroid orbits the Sun at a distance of 0.1–2.3 AU once every 16 months (494 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.91 and an inclination of 5° with respect to the ecliptic. Due to its outstanding eccentricity, it is also a Mercury-crosser, Venus-crosser and Mars-crosser. It has the third-smallest perihelion of any numbered asteroid behind (137924) 2000 BD19 and (374158) 2004 UL. Its Earth minimum orbital intersection distance of 0.0047 AU (700,000 km) corresponds to only 1.84 lunar distances.
According to the survey carried out by the NEOWISE mission of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, the asteroid measures 7002367000000000000♠367±9 meters in diameter and its surface has an albedo of 0.128. As of 2016, the body's composition and spectral type, as well as its rotation period and shape remains unknown.