2001 XX4

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2001 XX4

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 25,400,924 km of Earth in 2059
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2001 XX4 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2001 XX4 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2001 XX4 orbits the sun every 369 days (1.01 years), coming as close as 0.45 AU and reaching as far as 1.57 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2001 XX4 is probably between 0.101 to 0.226 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2001 XX4'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 XX4 has 21 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
March 26, 2059 25,400,924 23.057
March 28, 2060 15,235,779 20.950
March 30, 2061 5,348,819 18.859
April 2, 2062 4,866,440 16.996
April 3, 2063 14,547,855 15.052
April 3, 2064 24,557,379 13.286
Dec. 6, 2090 19,655,754 14.057
Dec. 7, 2091 9,204,348 16.038
Dec. 8, 2092 2,132,123 18.104
Dec. 11, 2093 12,746,797 20.425
Dec. 14, 2094 24,170,729 22.853
March 27, 2139 25,966,147 23.206
March 30, 2140 13,786,537 20.640
April 2, 2141 2,652,046 18.234
April 4, 2142 9,369,029 16.053
April 5, 2143 20,648,752 13.960
Dec. 7, 2167 21,347,425 13.768
Dec. 8, 2168 9,624,605 15.978
Dec. 10, 2169 2,692,081 18.272
Dec. 13, 2170 15,029,013 20.936
Dec. 17, 2171 27,935,451 23.642

Images and Observations

2001 XX4's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 11, 2001. It was last officially observed on Jan. 3, 2003. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 102 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 XX4:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.006 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5567
  • Inclination: 0.85°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 127.07°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 186.83°
  • Mean Anomaly: 255.65°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.130 km
  • Magnitude: 22.1

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 369 days (1.01 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 29.66 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.57 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.45 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2001 XX4 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 XX4 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.