144898 (2004 VD17)

Small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 144898 (2004 VD17)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge
  • Will pass within 3,140,178 km of Earth in 2032
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

144898 (2004 VD17) is a small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2004 VD17 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2004 VD17 orbits the sun every 676 days (1.85 years), coming as close as 0.62 AU and reaching as far as 2.40 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2004 VD17 is probably between 0.441 to 0.986 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than ~97% of asteroids but small compared to large asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge.

The rotation of 2004 VD17 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 3.37 hours.

Close Approaches

2004 VD17's orbit is 0.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

2004 VD17 has 13 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
May 1, 2032 3,140,178 18.855
Nov. 7, 2041 1,955,337 17.842
May 6, 2067 6,162,586 17.026
Nov. 1, 2076 17,539,417 14.741
Nov. 18, 2087 27,390,466 23.705
May 2, 2102 5,568,850 19.310
May 16, 2113 24,534,000 13.445
Nov. 6, 2122 11,029,833 16.052
May 7, 2148 6,315,521 16.990
Nov. 6, 2157 9,633,376 16.347
April 29, 2172 14,263,870 21.028
Nov. 4, 2181 14,783,687 15.322
May 5, 2196 995,518 18.077

Images and Observations

2004 VD17's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Feb. 16, 2002. It was last officially observed on Feb. 4, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 1,440 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 VD17:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.508 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5887
  • Inclination: 4.22°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 223.98°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 90.99°
  • Mean Anomaly: 93.27°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.569 km
  • Magnitude: 18.9

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 676 days (1.85 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 24.27 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.40 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.62 AU
  • Rotation Period: 3.37 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 144898 (2004 VD17) 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 VD17 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.