116970 (2004 HJ15)

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Jupiter Trojan
• Comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

116970 (2004 HJ15) is a mid-sized asteroid that shares Jupiter's orbit around the sun. NASA JPL has not classified 2004 HJ15 as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.

2004 HJ15 orbits the sun every 4,210 days (11.53 years), coming as close as 4.99 AU and reaching as far as 5.22 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2004 HJ15 is probably between 5.303 to 11.859 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay.

The rotation of 2004 HJ15 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 11.60 hours.

No Close Approaches

2004 HJ15's orbit is 4.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is an extremely wide berth between this asteroid and Earth at all times.

Orbital simulations conducted by NASA JPL's CNEOS do not show any close approaches to Earth.

Images and Observations

2004 HJ15's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 15, 1998. It was last officially observed on Jan. 24, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 400 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

This asteroid is not considered a viable target for human exploration by the NHATS study.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2004 HJ15:

• 2797 Teucer (1981 LK)
• 2920 Automedon (1981 JR)
• 4715 Medesicaste (1989 TS1)

References

• JPL Small Body Database
• Mission Design
• Sky Finder Chart

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 116970 (2004 HJ15) is indicated by a ◯ pink circle. Note that the object may not be in your current field of view. Use the controls below to adjust position, location, and time.

Size Rendering

The above comparison is an artistic rendering that uses available data on the diameter of 2004 HJ15 to create an approximate landscape rendering with Mount Everest in the background. This approximation is built for full-resolution desktop browsers. Shape, color, and texture of asteroid are imagined.