2001 SQ3

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2001 SQ3

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 11,424,101 km of Earth in 2021
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2001 SQ3 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2001 SQ3 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2001 SQ3 orbits the sun every 427 days (1.17 years), coming as close as 0.83 AU and reaching as far as 1.39 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2001 SQ3 is probably between 0.108 to 0.242 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

The rotation of 2001 SQ3 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 0.06 hours.

Close Approaches

2001 SQ3's orbit is 0.03 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 SQ3 has 21 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
March 16, 2021 11,424,101 15.902
March 19, 2028 6,000,643 14.244
March 23, 2035 23,221,144 12.756
Sept. 13, 2056 22,835,779 12.678
Sept. 16, 2063 6,389,193 14.145
Sept. 19, 2070 12,587,319 15.896
March 14, 2076 22,477,947 17.439
Sept. 23, 2077 29,198,592 18.301
March 18, 2083 6,669,975 15.219
March 20, 2090 9,276,557 13.852
March 22, 2097 24,977,889 12.662
Sept. 14, 2118 27,764,106 12.423
Sept. 15, 2125 11,898,004 13.492
Sept. 18, 2132 5,763,396 14.884
Sept. 22, 2139 20,801,750 17.068
March 17, 2145 13,708,806 16.203
March 20, 2152 5,822,281 14.303
March 24, 2159 23,653,335 12.737
Sept. 14, 2180 19,401,016 12.891
Sept. 18, 2187 4,841,770 14.579
Sept. 22, 2194 20,597,026 17.049

Images and Observations

2001 SQ3's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 17, 2001. It was last officially observed on March 19, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 154 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 SQ3:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.11 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.2545
  • Inclination: 23.9°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 356.16°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 268.27°
  • Mean Anomaly: 351.35°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.140 km
  • Magnitude: 21.95

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 427 days (1.17 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 28.28 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.39 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.83 AU
  • Rotation Period: 0.06 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2001 SQ3 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 SQ3 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.