2003 GR22

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2003 GR22

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 23,025,072 km of Earth in 2020
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2003 GR22 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2003 GR22 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2003 GR22 orbits the sun every 701 days (1.92 years), coming as close as 0.60 AU and reaching as far as 2.49 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2003 GR22 is probably between 0.098 to 0.220 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2003 GR22's orbit is 0.01 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

2003 GR22 has 14 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Nov. 2, 2020 23,025,072 23.663
May 1, 2026 29,560,438 13.444
Nov. 2, 2045 22,700,637 23.593
April 9, 2053 25,209,818 24.079
Oct. 20, 2072 12,614,319 16.700
April 18, 2078 2,658,124 18.652
Oct. 26, 2097 3,235,001 19.438
April 30, 2103 25,717,680 14.144
Oct. 18, 2124 20,492,629 15.139
April 17, 2130 5,708,913 20.152
Oct. 25, 2149 5,142,179 18.282
April 25, 2155 13,633,944 16.473
Nov. 4, 2174 22,824,219 23.624
April 10, 2182 28,288,747 24.670

Images and Observations

2003 GR22's orbit is determined by observations dating back to April 7, 2003. It was last officially observed on Nov. 23, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 82 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 2003 GR22:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.545 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.6085
  • Inclination: 6.17°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 23.42°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 276.84°
  • Mean Anomaly: 201.43°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.127 km
  • Magnitude: 22.16

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 701 days (1.92 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 23.98 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.49 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.60 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2003 GR22 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 2003 GR22 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.