is a quasi-satellite

Quasi-satellite

A quasi-satellite is an object in a 1:1 orbital resonance with its planet that stays close to the planet over many orbital periods.A quasi-satellite's orbit around the Sun takes exactly the same time as the planet's, but has a different eccentricity , as shown in the diagram on the right...

 of Venus

Venus

Venus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6, bright enough to cast shadows...

. It was discovered on November 11, 2002.

This asteroid

Asteroid

Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...

 is also a Mercury grazer and an Earth crosser; it seems to have been co-orbital

Co-orbital configuration

In astronomy, a co-orbital configuration refers to two or more celestial objects that orbit at the same, or very similar, distance from their parent object as each other, i.e. they are in a 1:1 mean motion resonance....

 with Venus for only the last 7000 years, and is destined to be ejected from this orbital arrangement about 500 years from now. During this time, its distance to Venus has been and will remain larger than about 0.2 AU

Astronomical unit

An astronomical unit is a unit of length equal to about or approximately the mean Earth–Sun distance....

(3·10⁷ km).

External links

• Asteroid 2002 VE68, a quasi-satellite of Venus, by Mikkola, S., Brasser, R., Wiegert, P., Innanen, K. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 351, Issue 3, pp. L63-L65.