2014 RC
2014 RC is a sub-kilometer near-Earth object and Apollo asteroid. The exceptionally fast rotator passed within 0.000267 AU (39,900 km; 24,800 mi) (0.1 lunar distances) of Earth on 7 September 2014. The asteroid is approximately the diameter of the Chelyabinsk meteor, and passed almost as close to Earth as 367943 Duende (2012 DA14) did in 2013.
2014 RC imaged by the Goldstone Radar on 7 September 2014 | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | CSS |
| Discovery site | Catalina Stn. |
| Discovery date | 1 September 2014 (first observed only) |
| Designations | |
MPC designation | 2014 RC |
Minor planet category | NEO · Apollo |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch 1 July 2021 (JD 2459396.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 3 | |
| Observation arc | 18 days w/Radar |
| Aphelion | 1.8064 AU |
| Perihelion | 0.8211 AU |
Semi-major axis | 1.3138 AU |
| Eccentricity | 0.3750 |
Orbital period (sidereal) | 1.51 yr (550 d) |
Mean anomaly | 155.44° |
Mean motion | 0° 39m 16.2s / day |
| Inclination | 4.5687° |
Longitude of ascending node | 344.91° |
| 71.090° | |
| Earth MOID | 0.0003 AU (0.1169 LD) |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | >22 m (largest axis) |
Mean diameter | ~12–25 m (est.) |
Synodic rotation period | 0.004389 h (15.80 s) |
| S/q | |
| 28 (Nov/Dec 2014) | |
| 26.8 | |
With an absolute magnitude of 26.8, the asteroid is about 11–25 meters (36–82 ft) in diameter depending on the albedo. Observations by the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility conclude the asteroid is a fairly bright Sq-class asteroid which have an average albedo of around 0.24, and would give the asteroid a spherical equivalent diameter of 12 meters (39 ft). Measurements by multiple telescopes indicate that the asteroid rotates in 15.8 seconds making it one of the fastest rotating asteroids so far discovered. Using the 15.8 second rotation period, more accurate radar observations by Goldstone shows the asteroid has a largest axis of at least 22 meters (72 ft). Due to the asteroid's fast rotation, it is a monolith and not a rubble pile.
On 8 September 2115 the asteroid will pass about 0.0053 AU (790,000 km; 490,000 mi) from the Moon. On 5 September 1973, the asteroid passed between 0.01052 AU (1,574,000 km; 978,000 mi) and 0.01207 AU (1,806,000 km; 1,122,000 mi) from Earth. 2014 RC was removed from the JPL Sentry Risk Table on 5 September 2014 and there are no known possible impact dates in the next 100 years.