2062 Aten
Orbit of Aten at epoch September 2013 | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | E. F. Helin |
| Discovery site | Palomar Obs. |
| Discovery date | 7 January 1976 |
| Designations | |
| (2062) Aten | |
| Pronunciation | /ˈɑːtən/ |
Named after | Aten (Egyptian mythology) |
| 1976 AA | |
| Aten · NEO | |
| Symbol | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch 31 December 2011 (JD 2455926.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 59.14 yr (21,601 days) |
| Earliest precovery date | 17 December 1955 |
| Aphelion | 1.1434 AU |
| Perihelion | 0.7901 AU |
| 0.9668 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.1827 |
| 0.95 yr (347 days) | |
| 172.27° | |
| 1° 2m 12.48s / day | |
| Inclination | 18.934° |
| 108.60° | |
| 148.04° | |
| Earth MOID | 0.1131 AU · 44.1 LD |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 0.73±0.03 km 0.80±0.03 km 0.91 km 1.1 km 1.30 km |
| 40.77 h | |
| 0.20 0.20±0.15 0.26 0.28 0.39±0.05 0.52±0.10 | |
| S (Tholen) · Sr (SMASS) B–V = 0.930 U–B = 0.460 | |
| 16.80 · 17.01±1.40 · 17.12 · 17.20 · 17.30 | |
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2062 Aten /ˈɑːtən/, provisional designation 1976 AA, is a stony sub-kilometer asteroid and namesake of the Aten asteroids, a subgroup of near-Earth objects. The asteroid was named after Aten from Egyptian mythology.
It was discovered on 7 January 1976, at the Palomar Observatory by American astronomer Eleanor Helin, who was the principal scientist for the NEAT project until her retirement in 2002. The S-type asteroid measures approximately 900 meters in diameter, has a longer-than average rotation period of 44.77 hours, and approaches the orbit Earth to 44.1 lunar distances.