2003 LH

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
• Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
• Will pass within 5,988,436 km of Earth in 2019
• Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

2003 LH is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2003 LH as a "Near Earth Asteroid" due to its orbit's proximity to Earth, but it is not considered potentially hazardous because computer simulations have not indicated any imminent likelihood of future collision.

2003 LH orbits the sun every 344 days (0.94 years), coming as close as 0.82 AU and reaching as far as 1.11 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2003 LH is probably between 0.016 to 0.071 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2003 LH's orbit is 0.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

2003 LH has 8 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Images and Observations

2003 LH's orbit is determined by observations dating back to June 2, 2003. It was last officially observed on July 31, 2003. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 50 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2003 LH can be reached with a journey of 362 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 8.427 km/s. To put this into perspective, the delta-v to launch a rocket to Low-Earth Orbit is 9.7 km/s. There are 18,599 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2003 LH.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2003 LH:

• 2062 Aten (1976 AA)
• 68347 (2001 KB67)
• 86450 (2000 CK33)

References

• JPL Small Body Database
• Mission Design
• Sky Finder Chart

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2003 LH 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 LH 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.