2001 TA2

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2001 TA2

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 15,927,577 km of Earth in 2034
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2001 TA2 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2001 TA2 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2001 TA2 orbits the sun every 861 days (2.36 years), coming as close as 0.62 AU and reaching as far as 2.92 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2001 TA2 is probably between 0.106 to 0.237 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

Close Approaches

2001 TA2's orbit is 0.04 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 TA2 has 10 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Sept. 22, 2034 15,927,577 16.577
April 6, 2046 13,670,177 16.968
March 30, 2072 6,240,821 20.087
March 27, 2098 15,934,561 22.310
Oct. 6, 2119 17,229,452 22.502
March 24, 2124 28,666,703 24.854
Oct. 3, 2145 11,802,882 21.241
April 9, 2176 11,128,094 17.156
Oct. 2, 2190 8,721,048 20.504
March 27, 2195 26,415,211 24.322

Images and Observations

2001 TA2's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 11, 2001. It was last officially observed on April 5, 2013. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 127 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 TA2:

References

Search

   or view a random object

Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.771 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.6472
  • Inclination: 3.26°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 50.37°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 227.38°
  • Mean Anomaly: 136.66°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.137 km
  • Magnitude: 22.0

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 861 days (2.36 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 22.38 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.92 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.62 AU

Map Comparison

Click to load map

Orbit Simulation

⧉

Sky Map

The position of 2001 TA2 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 TA2 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.