2008 TC3

Also known as 2008 TC(3), 2008 TC 3, 8TA9D69

small asteroid which entered Earth's atmosphere in October 2008

Key facts

Discovered by: Catalina Sky Survey
Discovery date: October 6, 2008, 06:39 UTC
Alternative designations: 8TA9D69 ( Catalina Sky Survey )
Minor planet category: NEO Apollo
Observation arc: 1 day (575 observations)
Aphelion: 1.71644 AU (256.776 Gm )
Perihelion: 0.899957 AU (134.6317 Gm)
Semi major axis: 1.308201 AU (195.7041 Gm)
Orbital period sidereal: 1.50 yr (546.53 d )
Mean anomaly: 330.7541 °
Mean motion: 0.6587071°/day
Inclination: 2.54220°
Longitude of ascending node: 194.101138°
Time of perihelion: 2008-Nov-20
Argument of perihelion: 234.44897°
Jupiter moid: 3.57975 AU (535.523 Gm)
Dimensions: 4.1 metres (13.5 ft)
Mass: 80,000 kilograms (180,000 lb)

via Wikipedia infobox

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Encyclopedic overview

2008 TC3 was an 80-tonne (80-long-ton; 90-short-ton), 4.1-meter (13 ft) diameter asteroid that entered Earth's atmosphere on October 7, 2008. It exploded at an estimated 37 kilometers (23 mi) above the Nubian Desert in Sudan. Some 600 meteorites, weighing a total of 10.5 kilograms (23.1 lb), were recovered;

many of these belonged to a rare type known as ureilites, which contain, among other minerals, nanodiamonds.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “2008 TC3” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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