Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 9,461,215 km of Earth in 2021
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2004 FH is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2004 FH 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.

2004 FH orbits the sun every 271 days (0.74 years), coming as close as 0.58 AU and reaching as far as 1.06 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2004 FH is probably between 0.013 to 0.056 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

The rotation of 2004 FH has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 0.05 hours.

Close Approaches

2004 FH'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.

2004 FH has 15 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Feb. 24, 2021 9,461,215 5.680
March 22, 2024 13,913,657 9.956
Jan. 10, 2038 21,974,589 11.732
Jan. 21, 2041 6,147,473 5.887
March 17, 2044 1,799,610 6.633
March 22, 2047 18,767,696 11.038
Jan. 9, 2064 8,596,843 8.727
Feb. 1, 2067 9,186,152 5.668
March 16, 2070 2,759,951 6.416
March 22, 2073 12,977,593 9.720
Jan. 10, 2096 27,760,401 12.986
Jan. 8, 2099 13,952,656 9.948
Jan. 10, 2102 2,478,944 7.437
Jan. 12, 2105 623,835 6.917
March 22, 2111 5,839,270 8.196

Images and Observations

2004 FH's orbit is determined by observations dating back to March 16, 2004. It was last officially observed on Feb. 19, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 269 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2004 FH can be reached with a journey of 330 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 9.116 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 26,343 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2004 FH.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2004 FH:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.8196 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.2886
  • Inclination: 0.05°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 258.41°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 68.94°
  • Mean Anomaly: 350.57°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.035 km
  • Magnitude: 25.7

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 271 days (0.74 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 32.90 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.06 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.58 AU
  • Rotation Period: 0.05 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2004 FH 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 2004 FH 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.