2016 AZ₈

Radar images of 2016 AZ8 and its satellite by the Arecibo Observatory in January 2019
Discovery[1]
Discovered by	WISE
Discovery site	Earth orbit
Discovery date	3 January 2016
Designations
MPC designation	2016 AZ8
Minor planet category	NEO · Apollo[1][2] PHA[1][2]
Orbital characteristics[2]
Epoch 27 April 2019 (JD 2458600.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc	3.69 yr (1,347 d)
Aphelion	1.7895 AU
Perihelion	0.8516 AU
Semi-major axis	1.3205 AU
Eccentricity	0.3551
Orbital period (sidereal)	1.52 yr (554 d)
Mean anomaly	99.623°
Mean motion	0° 38m 58.2s / day
Inclination	5.5862°
Longitude of ascending node	90.016°
Argument of perihelion	318.51°
Known satellites	1[3]
Earth MOID	0.0295 AU (11.49 LD)
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter	215±52 m[2]
Absolute magnitude (H)	21.0[2]

2016 AZ₈ is a sub-kilometer asteroid and near-Earth object of the Apollo group, at least 400 meters (1,300 feet) in diameter.^[1][3] It was first observed on 3 January 2016, by the WISE telescope with precovery images found back in 2012.

The potentially hazardous asteroid is a binary system with a minor-planet moon in its orbit. The discovery was made by astronomers at Arecibo Observatory on 4 January 2019, while 2016 AZ₈ was passing within 4,460,000 kilometers (0.0298 AU) of the Earth.^[3] The binary has a secondary-to-primary diameter ratio of at least 0.3.^[3]

Orbit and classification

2016 AZ₈ orbits the Sun at a distance of 0.85–1.8 AU once every 18 months (554 days; semi-major axis of 1.32 AU). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.36 and an inclination of 6° with respect to the ecliptic.^[2] The body's observation arc begins with a precovery taken at the Siding Spring Survey in July 2012, more than three years prior to its official discovery observation.^[1]