2003 HM

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 2003 HM

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 11,235,940 km of Earth in 2025
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2003 HM is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2003 HM as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2003 HM orbits the sun every 268 days (0.73 years), coming as close as 0.59 AU and reaching as far as 1.03 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2003 HM is probably between 0.104 to 0.232 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2003 HM'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 HM has 18 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
April 20, 2025 11,235,940 14.141
April 20, 2036 19,677,768 14.970
April 21, 2047 28,497,893 16.047
April 23, 2050 22,646,985 13.428
April 21, 2061 14,534,341 13.197
April 20, 2072 8,209,098 13.199
April 21, 2083 6,066,631 13.237
April 21, 2094 9,249,488 13.184
April 23, 2105 16,312,441 13.218
April 24, 2116 24,688,878 13.513
April 21, 2124 22,128,078 15.274
April 21, 2135 13,267,720 14.345
April 21, 2146 7,102,899 13.839
April 21, 2157 5,911,440 13.756
April 21, 2168 10,636,788 14.110
April 22, 2179 18,957,454 14.910
April 22, 2190 27,948,801 15.996
April 24, 2193 23,366,635 13.447

Images and Observations

2003 HM's orbit is determined by observations dating back to April 23, 2003. It was last officially observed on Jan. 30, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 88 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 HM:

References

Search

   or view a random object

Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.8135 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.2699
  • Inclination: 26.27°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 30.45°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 19.32°
  • Mean Anomaly: 74.59°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.134 km
  • Magnitude: 22.04

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 268 days (0.73 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 33.02 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.03 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.59 AU

Map Comparison

Click to load map

Orbit Simulation

⧉

Sky Map

The position of 2003 HM 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 HM 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.