2004 HM

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

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

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 19,300,477 km of Earth in 2020
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2004 HM is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2004 HM 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 HM orbits the sun every 561 days (1.54 years), coming as close as 0.79 AU and reaching as far as 1.88 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2004 HM is probably between 0.061 to 0.137 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2004 HM'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.

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

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Nov. 15, 2020 19,300,477 9.958
March 17, 2024 28,118,753 8.864
Nov. 6, 2040 22,699,495 15.591
April 17, 2047 4,660,265 13.250
April 16, 2067 2,454,295 12.887
Nov. 16, 2080 19,305,462 10.027
April 5, 2084 15,083,268 10.008
Nov. 8, 2097 20,350,188 14.910
Nov. 20, 2117 25,365,207 8.684
April 9, 2121 11,014,178 10.624
Nov. 8, 2134 24,036,785 15.806
April 27, 2141 27,963,191 17.450
April 14, 2158 3,618,648 11.845
April 19, 2178 6,693,787 13.616
Nov. 13, 2191 15,279,169 12.964

Images and Observations

2004 HM's orbit is determined by observations dating back to April 16, 2004. It was last officially observed on Oct. 20, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 132 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 HM:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.331 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4095
  • Inclination: 11.57°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 205.28°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 283.8°
  • Mean Anomaly: 264.31°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.079 km
  • Magnitude: 23.18

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 561 days (1.54 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 25.81 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.88 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.79 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2004 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 2004 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.