2004 GD

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2004 GD

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 19,750,991 km of Earth in 2026
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2004 GD is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2004 GD 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 GD orbits the sun every 402 days (1.10 years), coming as close as 0.74 AU and reaching as far as 1.39 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2004 GD is probably between 0.048 to 0.108 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2004 GD'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.

2004 GD has 12 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
April 14, 2026 19,750,991 14.048
Nov. 5, 2028 6,684,152 11.220
April 16, 2037 15,494,996 13.201
Nov. 7, 2039 10,454,129 12.061
April 16, 2048 15,235,216 13.143
Nov. 7, 2050 11,175,461 12.224
April 19, 2059 6,222,907 11.388
Nov. 10, 2061 19,255,035 13.882
April 18, 2070 8,975,401 11.922
Nov. 9, 2072 15,414,731 13.089
April 16, 2092 15,386,232 13.174
Nov. 8, 2094 10,997,981 12.157

Images and Observations

2004 GD's orbit is determined by observations dating back to April 9, 2004. It was last officially observed on April 20, 2004. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 78 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 2004 GD:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.065 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3078
  • Inclination: 6.21°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 26.52°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 281.42°
  • Mean Anomaly: 172.82°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.062 km
  • Magnitude: 23.7

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 402 days (1.10 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 28.82 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.39 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.74 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2004 GD 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 GD 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.