The asteroid has a complex non-spherical shape
MOSCOW, January 18. /tass/. The Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics (IPM) of the Russian Academy of Sciences has clarified the parameters of the potentially dangerous kilometer asteroid 7482 (1994 PC1), which is approaching the Earth. This is stated in the message of the institute, distributed on Tuesday.
"The photometric parameters of asteroid 7482 (1994 PC1), approaching the Earth, have been clarified. The light curve of asteroid 1994 PC1, constructed from the results of observations of the object on the night of January 17-18, 2022, shows that the asteroid rotates around its axis with a period close to 155 minutes and has a complex non-spherical shape," the institute said in an Instagram post.
The IPM stressed that in the coming nights, in case of favorable weather conditions, the institute's telescopes, which are located on the territory of the Russian Federation, will be used for observation.
Asteroid 1994 PC1 was discovered in 1994 at the Siding Spring Observatory by astronomer Robert McNaught. Earlier, NASA reported that asteroid 7482 (1994 PC1), whose diameter is about 1.1 km, will fly past Earth on January 18. The closest distance to which the asteroid will get to the planet will be about 2 million km, it will fly at a speed of more than 70 thousand km / h.
Earlier, the institute reported that the optical means of monitoring the near-Earth space of the IPM monitor a potentially dangerous asteroid approaching the Earth. The object was accompanied on the night of January 16-17, 2022 by the ORI-22 telescope in Castelgrande (Italy).
