2000 KA

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2000 KA

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 3,397,570 km of Earth in 2020
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2000 KA is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2000 KA as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2000 KA orbits the sun every 561 days (1.54 years), coming as close as 0.72 AU and reaching as far as 1.95 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2000 KA is probably between 0.119 to 0.265 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

The rotation of 2000 KA has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 11.46 hours.

Close Approaches

2000 KA'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.

2000 KA has 16 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
May 12, 2020 3,397,570 13.498
Nov. 23, 2033 6,450,335 14.769
April 17, 2040 28,988,563 8.865
Nov. 23, 2056 4,458,667 14.384
May 19, 2066 14,426,402 16.160
Dec. 4, 2082 15,524,487 10.533
May 5, 2089 16,611,439 10.375
Dec. 2, 2105 11,421,251 11.326
May 12, 2112 5,006,470 12.702
Nov. 27, 2128 2,203,669 13.105
May 6, 2135 16,346,532 10.419
Dec. 12, 2151 22,152,707 9.426
May 15, 2158 3,332,199 13.836
Nov. 26, 2171 3,888,380 14.237
April 24, 2178 26,627,999 8.921
Nov. 29, 2194 2,948,437 12.971

Images and Observations

2000 KA's orbit is determined by observations dating back to May 22, 2000. It was last officially observed on June 21, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 474 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 2000 KA:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.332 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4619
  • Inclination: 6.73°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 62.44°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 83.31°
  • Mean Anomaly: 97.37°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.153 km
  • Magnitude: 21.75

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 561 days (1.54 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 25.83 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.95 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.72 AU
  • Rotation Period: 11.46 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2000 KA 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 2000 KA 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.