asteroid 4179 Toutatis

E918823

Asteroid 4179 Toutatis is a near-Earth, tumbling, elongated asteroid known for its close approaches to Earth and detailed radar imaging that revealed its distinctive contact-binary shape.

All labels observed (3)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (51)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Apollo asteroid
contact binary
minor planet
near-Earth asteroid
potentially hazardous asteroid
absoluteMagnitude_H 15.3
albedo 0.13
aphelionDistance_au 4.12
approachType Earth-crossing
approximateDimensions_km 4.6 × 2.4 × 1.9
argumentOfPerihelion_deg 278.7
ascendingNodeLongitude_deg 128.3
belongsTo Solar System
closeApproachTarget Earth
Mars
closeApproachToEarth 1992-12-08
1996-11-29
2004-09-29
2012-12-12
discoverer Christian Pollas
discoveryCountry France
discoveryDate 1989-01-04
discoverySite Caussols Observatory
eccentricity 0.63
flybyDate 2012-12-13
hasChaoticRotation true
imagedBySpacecraft Chang'e 2
linked to: Chang’e 2
inclination_deg 0.45
minimumOrbitIntersectionDistance_au 0.006
mpcNumber 4179
namedAfter Teutates
Toutatis
notableCloseApproachDistance_au 0.0104
orbitalClass Apollo group
orbitalPeriod_years 4.02
orbitingBody Sun
perihelionDistance_au 0.94
provisionalDesignation 1989 AC
radarImagingRevealed bilobate shape
distinct neck region
radarObservedBy Arecibo Observatory
Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex
rotationPeriod_longAxis_hours 5.4
rotationPeriod_precession_hours 7.4
rotationState non-principal axis rotation
tumbling
semiMajorAxis_au 2.53
shape contact-binary
elongated
spectralType S-type asteroid
visitedBy Chang'e 2
linked to: Chang’e 2

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (4)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Evpatoria planetary radar observes asteroid 4179 Toutatis
Chang’e 2 secondaryTarget 4179 Toutatis
linked to: asteroid 4179 Toutatis
Chang’e 2 performedAsteroidFlyby 4179 Toutatis
linked to: asteroid 4179 Toutatis
Chang’e 2 traveledTo near-Earth asteroid 4179 Toutatis
linked to: asteroid 4179 Toutatis