2001 GR2

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2001 GR2

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 28,309,277 km of Earth in 2044
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2001 GR2 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2001 GR2 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2001 GR2 orbits the sun every 928 days (2.54 years), coming as close as 0.70 AU and reaching as far as 3.02 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2001 GR2 is probably between 0.127 to 0.284 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

Close Approaches

2001 GR2's orbit is 0.01 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is a wide berth between this asteroid and Earth at all times.

2001 GR2 has 9 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Oct. 10, 2044 28,309,277 23.969
April 23, 2062 13,911,733 17.142
Sept. 25, 2072 11,064,125 16.631
Oct. 8, 2105 15,986,536 21.654
April 20, 2123 13,771,615 19.532
Sept. 20, 2133 21,669,449 14.801
April 30, 2156 24,722,022 14.571
Oct. 3, 2166 2,899,615 19.164
May 1, 2184 25,080,898 14.529

Images and Observations

2001 GR2's orbit is determined by observations dating back to April 5, 2001. It was last officially observed on Oct. 20, 2011. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 78 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 2001 GR2:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.862 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.6215
  • Inclination: 11.83°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 190.22°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 99.35°
  • Mean Anomaly: 272.18°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.164 km
  • Magnitude: 21.6

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 928 days (2.54 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 21.83 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 3.02 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.70 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2001 GR2 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 2001 GR2 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.