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4179 Toutatis

4179 Toutatis
Orbital characteristics
Orbit type Alinda, chaotic
Semimajor axis 2.511 AU
Eccentricity 0.634
Orbital period 3.98 years
Inclination 0.47°
Physical characteristics
Diameter 4.5×2.4×1.9 km
Mass 5.0×1013 kg
Density 2.1 g/cm3
Rotation period 5d 9h 50m + 7d 8h 24m
Spectral class S
Albedo 0.13
History
Discoverer C. Pollas, 1989

4179 Toutatis (asteroid 4179) is an Alinda asteroid whose orbit, strongly influenced by Earth's gravity, is chaotic. Furthermore, its rotation combines two separate periodic motions that combine to produce a nonperiodic rotation; to someone on the surface of Toutatis the Sun would seem to rise and set in apparently random locations and times at the asteroid's horizon.

On September 29 2004 Toutatis will pass within 4 lunar distances of Earth, presenting a good opportunity for observation.

Referenced By

2004 | 2004 AD | 29 September | 29th September | Albiorix | Alinda asteroid | Alinda asteroids | As of 2004 | As of January 2004 | Caturix | List of asteroids in our Solar System | List of astronomical topics | List of astronomical topics (N-Z) | Loucetius | Rigisamos | September 29 | September 29th | Teutates | Toutatis

 

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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "4179 Toutatis".

 

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