Discovery date 2002 May 06 Minor planet category Apollo NEO,
PHA Discovered 6 May 2002 Absolute magnitude 21.3 | MPC designation 2002 JE9 Observation arc 4014 days (10.99 yr) Earth moid 0.5 cm Asteroid group Apollo asteroid | |
Discovered by LINEAR (704)
1.0-m Reflector Aphelion 1.5126 AU (226.28 Gm) (Q) Discoverer Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research Similar 4660 Nereus, 4179 Toutatis, 25143 Itokawa | ||
2002 JE9 (also written 2002 JE9) is an Apollo near-Earth asteroid and potentially hazardous object. It has a well determined orbit with an observation arc of 10 years and an Uncertainty Parameter of 1. It was removed from the Sentry Risk Table on 10 May 2002. 2002 JE9 was discovered on 6 May 2002 by the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) project using a 1.0-metre (39 in) Reflecting telescope; at the time of discovery, the asteroid possessed an apparent magnitude of 19.1.
The asteroid has an estimated diameter of about 200 metres (660 ft) based on an absolute magnitude of 21.3. 2002 JE9 is considered significant due to having previously passed closer to the Earth; on 11 April 1971, it passed Earth at a distance of 0.0015 AU (220,000 km; 140,000 mi). 2002 JE9 is one of the largest objects known to have passed inside the orbit of the moon. During the close approach in 1971 the asteroid reached about apparent magnitude 10, about the same brightness as Saturn's moon Iapetus.
The asteroid will pass 0.0049 AU (730,000 km; 460,000 mi) from Venus on 25 November 2021.