(90075) 2002 VU94
is an asteroid on an eccentric orbit, classified as near-Earth object and potentially hazardous asteroid of the Apollo group, approximately 2.5 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 13 November 2002, by astronomers of the Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking program at Palomar Observatory in California, United States. It is one of the largest potentially hazardous asteroids known.
Orbit and classification
is a member of the dynamical Apollo group, which are Earth-crossing asteroids. Apollo asteroids are the largest subgroup of near-Earth objects. It orbits the Sun at a distance of 0.9–3.4 AU once every 3 years and 1 month. Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.58 and an inclination of 9° with respect to the ecliptic.The body's observation arc begins with a precovery from the Digitized Sky Survey taken at the Palomar Observatory in October 1955, or 47 years prior to its official discovery observation.
Close approaches
With an absolute magnitude of 15.3, is one of the brightest and largest known potentially hazardous asteroid . It has an Earth minimum orbital intersection distance of, which translates into 11.7 lunar distances. On 18 May 2092, the body will make its closest near-Earth encounter at a nominal distance of 0.095 AU. The asteroid is also Mars-crosser, crossing the orbit of the Red Planet at 1.66 AU.Physical characteristics
is an assumed, stony S-type asteroid.Rotation period
In 2014 and 2017, several rotational lightcurves of were obtained from photometric observations by American astronomer Brian Warner at the Palmer Divide Station in California. Lightcurve analysis gave a consolidated rotation period of 7.879 hours with a brightness amplitude between 0.31 and 0.64 magnitude.In 2017, Warner also modeled the photometric data and determined a sidereal period of 7.878512 hours, as well as a spin axis of in ecliptic coordinates.