2004 LB

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2004 LB

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 27,669,918 km of Earth in 2032
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2004 LB is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2004 LB as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2004 LB orbits the sun every 394 days (1.08 years), coming as close as 1.00 AU and reaching as far as 1.11 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2004 LB is probably between 0.127 to 0.284 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

Close Approaches

2004 LB's orbit is 0.02 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is a wide berth between this asteroid and Earth at all times.

2004 LB has 20 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
June 6, 2032 27,669,918 18.653
Dec. 2, 2045 20,912,515 19.594
June 3, 2059 24,143,507 19.037
Dec. 4, 2059 11,906,174 19.416
June 3, 2073 21,051,857 18.877
Dec. 4, 2073 8,313,333 19.387
June 4, 2087 23,848,592 19.030
Dec. 4, 2087 12,005,260 19.411
Dec. 3, 2101 21,107,258 19.597
June 8, 2116 26,316,902 18.630
June 7, 2130 17,477,866 18.413
Dec. 12, 2130 24,635,728 20.291
June 6, 2144 12,666,839 18.377
Dec. 10, 2144 15,878,673 19.838
June 6, 2158 11,813,885 18.405
Dec. 9, 2158 10,941,052 19.648
June 6, 2172 11,923,060 18.412
Dec. 9, 2172 10,091,007 19.624
June 7, 2186 12,124,394 18.380
Dec. 10, 2186 13,318,440 19.741

Images and Observations

2004 LB's orbit is determined by observations dating back to June 7, 2004. It was last officially observed on June 14, 2018. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 155 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 LB:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.051 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.0529
  • Inclination: 37.33°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 254.01°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 144.71°
  • Mean Anomaly: 174.36°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.164 km
  • Magnitude: 21.6

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 394 days (1.08 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 29.02 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.11 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 1.00 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2004 LB 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 LB 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.