3352 McAuliffe
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | N. G. Thomas |
| Discovery site | Anderson Mesa Stn. |
| Discovery date | 6 February 1981 |
| Designations | |
| (3352) McAuliffe | |
| Pronunciation | /məˈkɔːlɪf/ |
Named after | Christa McAuliffe (Challenger crew member) |
| 1981 CW | |
| NEO · Amor | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Epoch 4 September 2017 (JD 2458000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 36.34 yr (13,275 days) |
| Aphelion | 2.5725 AU |
| Perihelion | 1.1855 AU |
| 1.8790 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.3691 |
| 2.58 yr (941 days) | |
| 73.070° | |
| 0° 22m 57.72s / day | |
| Inclination | 4.7727° |
| 107.37° | |
| 15.941° | |
| Earth MOID | 0.2041 AU · 79.5 LD |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Dimensions | 1.99 km (derived) |
| 2.2060±0.0003 h 2.2062±0.0002 h 2.207±0.002 h 2.212±0.002 h 6 h (dated) | |
| 0.18 (assumed) | |
| SMASS = A SQ · A | |
| 15.54±0.1 (R) · 15.8 · 16.00±0.18 · 16.068±0.112 | |
3352 McAuliffe (/məˈkɔːlɪf/), provisional designation 1981 CW, is a rare-type asteroid and suspected binary system, classified as near-Earth object of the Amor group, approximately 2 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 6 February 1981, by American astronomer Norman Thomas at Lowell's Anderson Mesa Station near Flagstaff, Arizona, United States.
Originally, this asteroid was the target of the 1998 Deep Space 1 mission, but that mission was eventually rerouted to 9969 Braille. It was named in memory of Challenger crew member Christa McAuliffe.