1998 KY26
Three views of a computer model of 1998 KY26, derived from radar observations in 1998 | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Spacewatch (Tom Gehrels) |
| Discovery site | Kitt Peak Obs. |
| Discovery date | 28 May 1998 (discovery: first observed only) |
| Designations | |
| 1998 KY26 | |
| NEO · Apollo | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch 21 Nov 2025 (JD 2461000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 25.93 yr (9472 days) |
| Aphelion | 1.4748 AU |
| Perihelion | 0.9840 AU |
| 1.2289 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.20011 |
| 1.3622 yr (497.57 days) | |
| 359.504° | |
| 0° 43m 24.642s / day | |
| Inclination | 1.4912° |
| 84.182° | |
| 210.004° | |
| Earth MOID | 0.002966 AU (1.154 LD) |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 11±2 m | |
| 5.3516±0.0001 min (0.0892 h) | |
| 0.52±0.08 | |
| X B–R=0.083±0.070 V–R=0.058±0.055 R–I=0.088±0.053 Xe | |
| 26.13±0.16 | |
1998 KY26 is a nearly spherical sub-kilometer asteroid, classified as a near-Earth object of the Apollo group. It measures approximately 11 meters (40 feet) in diameter and is a fast rotator, having a rotational period of only 5.35 minutes. It was first observed on 2 June 1998, by the Spacewatch survey at Kitt Peak National Observatory during 6 days during which it passed 800,000 kilometers (half a million miles) away from Earth (a little more than twice the Earth–Moon distance).
The object's orbit is well known, since it was recovered in 2002 by the Hawaiian Observatory, and it was most recently observed, from 17 April 2024 through 3 June 2024, by several observatories.