2001 TC45

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2001 TC45

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building
  • Will pass within 12,183,339 km of Earth in 2044
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2001 TC45 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2001 TC45 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2001 TC45 orbits the sun every 1,210 days (3.31 years), coming as close as 0.79 AU and reaching as far as 3.64 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2001 TC45 is probably between 0.330 to 0.738 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 90% of asteroids but tiny compared to large asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building.

2001 TC45's spectral type None (Tholen) / Sq (SMASSII) indicates that it is likely to contain and .

Close Approaches

2001 TC45's orbit is 0.02 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 TC45 has 6 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Oct. 27, 2044 12,183,339 19.331
Oct. 30, 2077 6,209,109 17.967
Oct. 25, 2110 20,486,430 20.834
Nov. 23, 2166 29,571,373 12.777
March 11, 2190 26,798,829 15.215
Nov. 8, 2199 13,923,204 15.123

Images and Observations

2001 TC45's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 15, 2001. It was last officially observed on Sept. 13, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 155 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 TC45:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 2.217 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.6426
  • Inclination: 15.47°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 35.16°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 67.04°
  • Mean Anomaly: 206.96°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.426 km
  • Magnitude: 19.53
  • Spectral type (SMASS): Sq

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 1,210 days (3.31 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 19.93 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 3.64 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.79 AU
  • Approx. Composition: and .

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2001 TC45 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 TC45 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.