Discovered by 20 January 2004 Minor planet category main-belt Aphelion 2.9026 AU (434.22 Gm) Discovered 20 January 2004 Discovery site Paranal Observatory | MPC designation 2004 BX159 Observation arc 6804 days (18.63 yr) Perihelion 2.1639 AU (323.71 Gm) Absolute magnitude 16.8 Minor planet category Asteroid belt | |
2004 BX159, also written 2004 BX159, is an estimated 1.2-kilometer-sized body of the Solar System. It was thought to be a Mars-crossing asteroid because of its poorly known orbit after discovery, and was therefore listed on the Sentry Risk Table as a possible impactor. With an observation arc of 3 days, perihelion was determined to be 7000150000000000000♠1.5±3 astronomical units (AU).
Precovery observations in archival data of the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope on Mauna Kea were identified in early 2014, resulting in a dramatic improvement of the orbital accuracy, sufficient to recognize the object as a regular main belt asteroid, not posing any danger to Earth.
The body was subsequently linked by the Minor Planet Center with additional observations reported since 1997. It has now a well-established orbit, observed over decades, with the lowest possible uncertainty of 0.