2005 NB56, also written as 2005 NB56, is a near-Earth asteroid of the Apollo group.[2] In 2009, research physicist Edward Drobyshevski and colleagues have suggested that 2005 NB56 could be a possible source of the meteoroid that caused the Tunguska event on 30 June 1908. It has been also suspected to be a dormant comet.[4]

2005 NB56
Discovery[1]
Discovered byMount Lemmon Survey
Discovery siteSummerhaven, Arizona, US
Discovery date11 July 2005
Designations
2005 NB56
Orbital characteristics[2]
Epoch 14 July 2005 (JD 2453565.5)
Uncertainty parameter 7
Observation arc17[1] d
Aphelion2.41707 AU (361.589 Gm)
Perihelion0.86585 AU (129.529 Gm)
1.64146 AU (245.559 Gm)
Eccentricity0.47251
2.10 yr (768.15 d)
25.175°
0° 28m 7.176s /day
Inclination6.7563°
112.359°
114.15°
Earth MOID0.0163799 AU (2,450,400 km)
Jupiter MOID2.5887 AU (387.26 Gm)
Physical characteristics
~170 m[3]
22.9[2]

Possible source of the Tunguska event bolide

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One study "suggests that a chunk of a comet caused the 5-10 megaton fireball, bouncing off the atmosphere and back into orbit around the sun."[4]

This object made a close approach to Earth when it was discovered in 2005 and will do so again in 2045.[5] This object has a poorly known orbit and was only observed over an observation arc of 17 days, not sufficient to predict its position in 1908 with sufficient accuracy.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b "2005 NB56". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d "(2005 NB56)". JPL Small-Body Database. Jet Propulsion Laboratory. SPK-ID: 3283898. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
  3. ^ Drobyshevski, E. M.; Galushina, T. Yu; Drobyshevski, M. E. (March 2009). "A search for a present-day candidate for the Comet P/Tunguska-1908". arXiv:0903.3313 [astro-ph.EP].
  4. ^ a b When Comets Attack: Solving the Mystery of the Biggest Natural Explosion in Modern History, By Mark Anderson, Popular Mechanics
  5. ^ "NEODyS: 2005NB56". Department of Mathematics, University of Pisa, ITALY. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
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