2002 VR85

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2002 VR85

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 10,266,003 km of Earth in 2020
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2002 VR85 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2002 VR85 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2002 VR85 orbits the sun every 892 days (2.44 years), coming as close as 0.72 AU and reaching as far as 2.91 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2002 VR85 is probably between 0.232 to 0.518 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2002 VR85'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.

2002 VR85 has 11 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
April 23, 2020 10,266,003 14.429
April 23, 2042 11,046,955 14.292
Dec. 26, 2046 29,277,846 11.596
April 26, 2064 6,947,854 15.114
April 22, 2086 13,281,875 13.854
Dec. 17, 2090 24,330,740 11.999
April 5, 2108 27,650,078 12.207
Dec. 4, 2112 12,083,212 15.504
Nov. 24, 2134 26,676,758 20.861
May 7, 2169 13,455,699 18.589
May 4, 2191 6,944,462 17.047

Images and Observations

2002 VR85's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 30, 2002. It was last officially observed on June 26, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 252 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 2002 VR85:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.814 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.6039
  • Inclination: 6.03°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 204.44°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 299.32°
  • Mean Anomaly: 156.81°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.299 km
  • Magnitude: 20.3

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 892 days (2.44 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 22.12 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.91 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.72 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2002 VR85 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 2002 VR85 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.