snip

The asteroid is in the main belt, perihelion is 2 AU, it never comes
near the Earth.


snip
Regards

Carsten Nielsen
Denmark

Okay... the emphasis of my original query gradually slid on over into
areas I never intended. It was never my concern that this asteroid (or
its debris) was going to migrate down into near earth orbit and
threaten our already tortured world. I'm aware that the asteroid will
stay in the asteroid belt.

I merely wanted to know, based on standard planetary system physics,
how long has it had its odd tail and knowing that, when was the
hypothetical collision likely to have taken place. That's all. To
restate: given tidal forces, solar wind etc., and other differential
dispersal mechanisms which would gradually dissipate the tail, we
should be able to guess roughly how long ago it got smacked upside its
head. :-) This would help us understand the long term real collisional
processes in the Belt.

cheers,
Gene