Like the Earth, l989FC takes about a year to go around the Sun. But its orbit is highly elliptical and extends past the orbit of Mars and inward past the orbit of Venus. Asteroid 1989FC is now moving rapidly away from the Earth and Sun. It will return, crossing the Earth's orbit again in early October 1989, this time at a greater distance from Earth. Asteroid l989FC is only one of about 30 Earth-crossing asteroids that have been discovered, although there may be many more.
Estimates range from several hundred to more than a thousand.
Dr. Sten Odenwald Return to Ask the Astronomer .