| Discovery[1][2] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | LINEAR |
| Discovery site | Lincoln Lab ETS |
| Discovery date | 3 February 2001 |
| Designations | |
| (98943) 2001 CC21 | |
| 1982 VE13[1] | |
| NEO · Apollo | |
| Orbital characteristics[3] | |
| Epoch 25 February 2023 (JD 2460000.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
| Observation arc | 40.31 yr (14,725 days) |
| Earliest precovery date | 10 November 1982 |
| Aphelion | 1.259 AU |
| Perihelion | 0.806 AU |
| 1.032 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.2192 |
| 1.05 yr (383.1 d) | |
| 280.856° | |
| 0° 56m 23.328s / day | |
| Inclination | 4.807° |
| 75.519° | |
| 179.441° | |
| Earth MOID | 0.08303 AU (12,421,000 km) |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 329+78 −41 m (NEOWISE)[4] 420–560 m (polarimetry)[5] | |
| 5.0247±0.0001 h[6][7] | |
| 0.285±0.083[5] | |
| S | |
| 18.77[3][1] | |
(98943) 2001 CC21 (provisional designation 2001 CC21) is a stony near-Earth asteroid of the Apollo group, with a diameter of about 500 metres (1,600 feet). It was discovered by the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) survey at Socorro, New Mexico on 3 February 2001.[1] It is an upcoming flyby target of JAXA's Hayabusa2 extended mission, which will approach less than 100 km (62 mi) from the asteroid in July 2026.[8][9]
This asteroid was discovered on 3 February 2001 by the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research project near Socorro, New Mexico and given the provisional designation 2001 CC21.[1] JAXA held a public naming campaign for the asteroid from December 2023 to May 2024, and a name will be selected in summer 2024.[10]
Near-infrared spectroscopyof2001 CC21 in 2023 shows that it is a stony S-type asteroid composed of silicates, with traces of pyroxene on its surface. These findings disprove earlier suggestions of an L-type asteroid spectrum, which lack pyroxene absorption bands by contrast.[5]
2001 CC21's rotation period was first measured through photometric light curves in January 2002, which showed a periodicity of 5.02 hours.[7] Observations in 2003 and 2022 secured this period and refined it to 5.0247±0.0001 hours.[11][6] 2001 CC21 significantly varies in brightness by 0.8–1.1 magnitudes as it rotates, which indicates it has an elongated shape.[6][9]
In September 2020, a mission extension for JAXA's Hayabusa2 asteroid sample return probe was selected to do additional flybys of two near-Earth asteroids: 2001 CC21 in July 2026 and a rendezvous with 1998 KY26 in July 2031.[8][9] Hayabusa2 will flyby within 100 km (62 mi) of 2001 CC21 at a very high relative speed of 5 km/s (3.1 mi/s), which will pose a challenge for the spacecraft's navigation and tracking capabilities during the encounter.[9]
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