The International Astronomical Union announced Tuesday that approaching NEO 2001 SN263 is actually a triple asteroid system. Arecibo radar images revealed the unique triple space rock that was previously believed to be a binary system. While the discovery of a triple-system is not unique, this is the first accomplished by radar and the only such discovery within the Near Earth Asteroid population. Astronomers estimate their diameters at 2km, 1km, and 400m.
The radar team, headed by Principal Investigator Mike Nolan of Arecibo, revealed 2001 SN263 as a triple-system with images obtained on February 12. Coincidentally, that’s the same day we captured live images on Slooh to create this asteroid animation - illustrating the NEO’s movement through Auriga and towards our planet.
The LINEAR Project originally discovered the asteroid in September 2001 and a team of seven astronomers from France’s Haute-Provence Observatory identified it as a possible binary-system in January 2007. It is an AMOR object, passing close to Earth every few years, but never actually crossing our orbit. This time around, 2001 SN263 will pass within 25.6 Lunar Distances on February 20. Currently, it’s visible at 13th magnitude in Auriga, where it will remain for the next two days before slipping into Gemini. By the time of its closest pass, this NEO will reach a brighter magnitude of 12.4.
We’ll be following 2001 SN 263’s approach through the Slooh telescopes, as weather allows. If you would like to catch a glimpse yourself, you can check the Member Missions thread of the Slooh Forum for dates and times.
