163348 (2002 NN4)

Small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 163348 (2002 NN4)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge (0.74 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 5,093,593 km of Earth in 2020
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

163348 (2002 NN4) is a small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2002 NN4 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2002 NN4 orbits the sun every 299 days (0.82 years), coming as close as 0.50 AU and reaching as far as 1.26 AU from the sun. 2002 NN4 is about 0.7 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than ~97% of asteroids but small compared to large asteroids, comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge.

The rotation of 2002 NN4 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 14.50 hours.

Close Approaches

2002 NN4's orbit is 0.01 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

2002 NN4 has 30 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
June 6, 2020 5,093,593 11.146
June 7, 2029 8,805,426 13.781
Sept. 11, 2030 19,828,281 14.658
June 10, 2038 25,417,018 17.185
Sept. 13, 2039 14,478,364 11.326
Sept. 6, 2048 22,964,783 8.957
June 18, 2052 24,362,287 8.955
June 7, 2061 11,421,418 10.065
June 6, 2070 1,519,094 12.316
Sept. 10, 2071 24,041,344 15.791
Sept. 9, 2080 21,128,485 9.189
June 13, 2084 20,840,004 9.059
June 7, 2093 10,605,272 14.148
Sept. 12, 2094 17,325,580 13.812
Sept. 4, 2103 25,832,451 8.755
June 11, 2107 15,361,933 9.519
June 9, 2116 19,058,314 15.873
Sept. 14, 2117 14,382,031 11.992
June 7, 2130 1,056,748 12.250
Sept. 13, 2131 21,369,556 15.035
June 10, 2144 23,031,177 16.687
Sept. 15, 2145 16,107,839 10.556
June 12, 2149 17,903,704 9.268
Aug. 31, 2159 29,256,573 8.714
June 8, 2163 2,884,103 12.640
Sept. 14, 2164 18,634,904 14.198
June 23, 2168 27,309,595 8.923
June 9, 2182 10,829,392 14.210
Sept. 16, 2183 15,044,002 12.547
June 16, 2187 21,349,153 9.007

Images and Observations

2002 NN4's orbit is determined by observations dating back to July 2, 2002. It was last officially observed on Aug. 27, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 688 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 2002 NN4:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460000.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.8758 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4345
  • Inclination: 5.42°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 259.43°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 222.21°
  • Mean Anomaly: 206.27°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 0.73500 km
  • Magnitude: 20.08
  • Albedo: 0.030

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 299 days (0.82 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 31.87 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.26 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.50 AU
  • Rotation Period: 14.50 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 163348 (2002 NN4) 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 2002 NN4 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.