152685 (1998 MZ)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 152685 (1998 MZ)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building
  • Will pass within 17,523,531 km of Earth in 2023
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

152685 (1998 MZ) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 1998 MZ as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

1998 MZ orbits the sun every 570 days (1.56 years), coming as close as 0.57 AU and reaching as far as 2.12 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 1998 MZ is probably between 0.360 to 0.805 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 90% of asteroids but tiny compared to large asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building.

Close Approaches

1998 MZ'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.

1998 MZ has 13 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
June 7, 2023 17,523,531 14.059
Nov. 17, 2041 25,239,908 22.609
Dec. 3, 2055 19,236,894 13.610
June 17, 2062 10,331,297 19.535
Nov. 28, 2080 8,370,214 15.826
June 17, 2087 7,391,915 18.949
Nov. 26, 2116 410,733 17.548
Nov. 28, 2127 3,409,207 16.833
Dec. 9, 2138 27,666,608 11.897
June 13, 2175 5,041,023 16.505
June 18, 2186 8,309,933 19.129
Nov. 22, 2190 15,945,044 20.714
June 23, 2197 24,248,572 22.272

Images and Observations

1998 MZ's orbit is determined by observations dating back to June 18, 1998. It was last officially observed on June 29, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 458 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 1998 MZ:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.346 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.573
  • Inclination: 0.15°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 122.19°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 39.35°
  • Mean Anomaly: 96.63°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.465 km
  • Magnitude: 19.34

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 570 days (1.56 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 25.69 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.12 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.57 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 152685 (1998 MZ) 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 below comparison is an artistic rendering that uses available data on the diameter of 1998 MZ to create an approximate landscape rendering with New York City in the background. This approximation is built for full-resolution desktop browsers. Shape, color, and texture of asteroid are imagined.