1991 BA
A lost Apollo asteroid with a brief observation arc.
Last updated
1991 BA is a sub-kilometer asteroid of the Apollo group, first observed by Spacewatch on 18 January 1991. It passed within 160,000 km of Earth, less than half the distance to the Moon, and is considered lost due to a short observation arc. It may be a member of the Beta Taurids.
Possible impact
The asteroid's trajectory is highly uncertain due to a brief five-hour observation arc. Virtual clones suggested a 1 in 290,000 chance of a 16-kiloton airburst impact on January 18, 2023, which did not happen. Such impacts occur about once yearly. A 1 in a million impact risk exists for January 19, 2114.
Did You Know?
- 1991 BA is listed on the Sentry Risk Table.
- It follows a highly eccentric (0.68), low-inclination (2.0°) orbit ranging between 0.71 and 3.7 AU from the Sun.
- At discovery, it was the smallest and closest confirmed asteroid outside Earth's atmosphere.
More in Potential Impact Events Caused by near-Earth Objects
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: 1991 BA (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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