The Discovery and Characterization of Earth-crossing Asteroid 2024 YR4
We describe observations and physical characteristics of Earth-crossing asteroid 2024 YR _4 , discovered on 2024 December 27 by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System. The asteroid has semimajor axis a = 2.52 au, eccentricity e = 0.66, inclination i = 3 $\mathop{.}\limits^{\unicode{x000b0...
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| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/adc910 |
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| author | Bryce T. Bolin Josef Hanuš Larry Denneau Roberto Bonamico Laura-May Abron Marco Delbo Josef Ďurech Robert Jedicke Leo Y. Alcorn Aleksandar Cikota Swayamtrupta Panda Henrique Reggiani |
| author_facet | Bryce T. Bolin Josef Hanuš Larry Denneau Roberto Bonamico Laura-May Abron Marco Delbo Josef Ďurech Robert Jedicke Leo Y. Alcorn Aleksandar Cikota Swayamtrupta Panda Henrique Reggiani |
| author_sort | Bryce T. Bolin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We describe observations and physical characteristics of Earth-crossing asteroid 2024 YR _4 , discovered on 2024 December 27 by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System. The asteroid has semimajor axis a = 2.52 au, eccentricity e = 0.66, inclination i = 3 $\mathop{.}\limits^{\unicode{x000b0}}$ 41, and a ∼0.003 au Earth minimum orbit intersection distance. We obtained g -, r -, i -, and Z -imaging with the Gemini South/Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph on 2025 February 7 and Y and J imaging with the Keck/Multi-Object Spectrometer for Infrared Exploration on 2025 February 12. We measured a g − i spectral slope of 13% ± 3%/100 nm and color indices g − r = 0.70 ± 0.10, r − i = 0.25 ± 0.06, i − Z = −0.27 ± 0.10, and Y − J = 0.41 ± 0.10. 2024 YR _4 has a spectrum that best matches R-type and Sa-type asteroids and a diameter of ∼30–65 m using our measured absolute magnitude of 23.9 ± 0.3 mag and assuming an albedo of 0.15–0.4. The lightcurve of 2024 YR _4 shows ∼0.4 mag variations with a rotation period of ∼1170 s. We use photometry of 2024 YR _4 from Gemini and other sources taken between 2024 December to 2025 February to determine the asteroid’s spin vector and shape, finding that it has an oblate, ∼3:1 axial ratio and a pole direction of λ , β = ∼ 42 ^∘ , ∼−25 ^∘ . Finally, we compare the orbital elements of 2024 YR _4 with the near-Earth object population model and find that its most likely sources are resonances between the inner and central Main Belt. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b40c4e3cfdb74bafbf6de8d39f25a54a |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2041-8205 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
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| series | The Astrophysical Journal Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-b40c4e3cfdb74bafbf6de8d39f25a54a2025-08-20T02:24:55ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal Letters2041-82052025-01-019841L2510.3847/2041-8213/adc910The Discovery and Characterization of Earth-crossing Asteroid 2024 YR4Bryce T. Bolin0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4950-6323Josef Hanuš1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2934-3723Larry Denneau2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7034-148XRoberto Bonamico3https://orcid.org/0009-0001-6475-144XLaura-May Abron4https://orcid.org/0009-0000-8709-5273Marco Delbo5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8963-2404Josef Ďurech6https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4914-3646Robert Jedicke7https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7830-028XLeo Y. Alcorn8https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2250-8687Aleksandar Cikota9https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7101-9831Swayamtrupta Panda10https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5854-7426Henrique Reggiani11https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6533-6179Eureka Scientific , Oakland, CA 94602, USACharles University , Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Institute of Astronomy, 180 00 Prague, Czech RepublicInstitute for Astronomy, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa , Honolulu, HI 96822, USABSA Osservatorio (K76) , 12038 Savigliano, Cuneo, ItalyGriffith Observatory , Los Angeles, CA 90027, USAUniversité Côte d’Azur , CNRS Lagrange, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, F 06304, Nice, France; University of Leicester , School of Physics and Astronomy, Leicester, LE1 7RH, UKCharles University , Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Institute of Astronomy, 180 00 Prague, Czech RepublicInstitute for Astronomy, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa , Honolulu, HI 96822, USAW. M. Keck Observatory , Waimea, HI 96743, USAInternational Gemini Observatory/NSF NOIRLab , Casilla 603, La Serena, ChileInternational Gemini Observatory/NSF NOIRLab , Casilla 603, La Serena, ChileInternational Gemini Observatory/NSF NOIRLab , Casilla 603, La Serena, ChileWe describe observations and physical characteristics of Earth-crossing asteroid 2024 YR _4 , discovered on 2024 December 27 by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System. The asteroid has semimajor axis a = 2.52 au, eccentricity e = 0.66, inclination i = 3 $\mathop{.}\limits^{\unicode{x000b0}}$ 41, and a ∼0.003 au Earth minimum orbit intersection distance. We obtained g -, r -, i -, and Z -imaging with the Gemini South/Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph on 2025 February 7 and Y and J imaging with the Keck/Multi-Object Spectrometer for Infrared Exploration on 2025 February 12. We measured a g − i spectral slope of 13% ± 3%/100 nm and color indices g − r = 0.70 ± 0.10, r − i = 0.25 ± 0.06, i − Z = −0.27 ± 0.10, and Y − J = 0.41 ± 0.10. 2024 YR _4 has a spectrum that best matches R-type and Sa-type asteroids and a diameter of ∼30–65 m using our measured absolute magnitude of 23.9 ± 0.3 mag and assuming an albedo of 0.15–0.4. The lightcurve of 2024 YR _4 shows ∼0.4 mag variations with a rotation period of ∼1170 s. We use photometry of 2024 YR _4 from Gemini and other sources taken between 2024 December to 2025 February to determine the asteroid’s spin vector and shape, finding that it has an oblate, ∼3:1 axial ratio and a pole direction of λ , β = ∼ 42 ^∘ , ∼−25 ^∘ . Finally, we compare the orbital elements of 2024 YR _4 with the near-Earth object population model and find that its most likely sources are resonances between the inner and central Main Belt.https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/adc910Apollo groupNear-Earth objectsAsteroid rotationAsteroid surfaces |
| spellingShingle | Bryce T. Bolin Josef Hanuš Larry Denneau Roberto Bonamico Laura-May Abron Marco Delbo Josef Ďurech Robert Jedicke Leo Y. Alcorn Aleksandar Cikota Swayamtrupta Panda Henrique Reggiani The Discovery and Characterization of Earth-crossing Asteroid 2024 YR4 The Astrophysical Journal Letters Apollo group Near-Earth objects Asteroid rotation Asteroid surfaces |
| title | The Discovery and Characterization of Earth-crossing Asteroid 2024 YR4 |
| title_full | The Discovery and Characterization of Earth-crossing Asteroid 2024 YR4 |
| title_fullStr | The Discovery and Characterization of Earth-crossing Asteroid 2024 YR4 |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Discovery and Characterization of Earth-crossing Asteroid 2024 YR4 |
| title_short | The Discovery and Characterization of Earth-crossing Asteroid 2024 YR4 |
| title_sort | discovery and characterization of earth crossing asteroid 2024 yr4 |
| topic | Apollo group Near-Earth objects Asteroid rotation Asteroid surfaces |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/adc910 |
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