2003 MK4

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2003 MK4

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 16,678,184 km of Earth in 2023
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2003 MK4 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2003 MK4 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2003 MK4 orbits the sun every 410 days (1.12 years), coming as close as 0.88 AU and reaching as far as 1.28 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2003 MK4 is probably between 0.179 to 0.400 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2003 MK4's orbit is 0.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is very close to Earth's orbit.

2003 MK4 has 21 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Jan. 7, 2023 16,678,184 14.513
Jan. 4, 2032 3,769,865 13.182
Jan. 4, 2041 6,810,305 13.470
Jan. 8, 2050 18,706,969 14.755
July 9, 2057 28,730,104 14.792
July 10, 2066 18,476,991 13.322
July 11, 2075 13,630,978 12.323
July 9, 2084 15,938,870 11.671
July 8, 2093 23,087,549 11.268
Dec. 28, 2102 26,464,565 11.831
Jan. 1, 2112 15,075,421 12.009
Jan. 2, 2121 6,342,882 12.428
Jan. 2, 2130 5,842,947 12.455
Jan. 1, 2139 14,336,930 12.035
Dec. 29, 2147 26,014,775 11.830
July 8, 2156 23,559,733 11.258
July 10, 2165 15,964,147 11.640
July 11, 2174 13,050,598 12.259
July 11, 2183 17,294,496 13.218
July 10, 2192 27,153,608 14.624
Jan. 12, 2194 29,823,438 16.199

Images and Observations

2003 MK4's orbit is determined by observations dating back to June 27, 2003. It was last officially observed on Jan. 28, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 276 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 MK4:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.081 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1814
  • Inclination: 22.32°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 282.58°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 109.71°
  • Mean Anomaly: 267.51°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.231 km
  • Magnitude: 20.86

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 410 days (1.12 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 28.68 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.28 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.88 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2003 MK4 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 MK4 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.