Discovery date 30 September 1973 Observation arc 20264 days (55.48 yr) Orbits Sun | Alternative names 3239 T-2 Discovered 30 September 1973 | |
Minor planet category former AmorMars-crosser Aphelion 4.01163 AU (600.131 Gm) Discoverers Tom Gehrels, Cornelis Johannes van Houten, Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld Similar 4954 Eric, Sun, Solar System, 3047 Goethe | ||
4587 Rees is a former Amor asteroid discovered on September 30, 1973 at the Palomar Observatory by Cornelis Johannes van Houten, Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld and Tom Gehrels. The Provisional designation given to 4587 Rees was 3239 T-2. It has a rotation period of 7.7886 hours. 4587 Rees was named in honor of Martin Rees. Naming it after Professor Lord Rees was proposed by Jan Hendrik Oort.
On 2072-Jul-03 Rees will pass 0.13828 AU (20,686,000 km; 12,854,000 mi) from Mars, the closest since it passed 0.1057 AU (15,810,000 km; 9,830,000 mi) from Mars on 1843-Jan-28. On 2121-Jan-30, Rees will pass 0.0475 AU (7,110,000 km; 4,420,000 mi) from 4 Vesta.
NEO status
Since all Near-Earth objects (NEOs) have a closest approach to the Sun (perihelion) of less than 1.3 AU, depending on the epoch chosen, the orbital parameters of 4587 Rees will not always qualify it as a NEO. In 2012 it was an amor asteroid. As of 2014, Rees has a perihelion of 1.3011 AU and does not meet the requirement to be defined as a NEO.