2004 XO

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

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

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 27,700,430 km of Earth in 2045
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

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

2004 XO orbits the sun every 384 days (1.05 years), coming as close as 0.93 AU and reaching as far as 1.13 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2004 XO is probably between 0.125 to 0.281 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

Close Approaches

2004 XO'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 XO has 10 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Dec. 1, 2045 27,700,430 15.493
May 29, 2064 4,437,263 13.931
Nov. 30, 2065 10,684,989 13.808
Dec. 1, 2086 16,572,704 14.387
May 27, 2105 14,814,130 14.657
Dec. 1, 2106 11,871,610 13.438
Dec. 2, 2127 17,025,392 14.419
May 31, 2146 5,172,117 13.983
Dec. 2, 2147 10,920,276 13.823
Dec. 2, 2168 28,705,265 15.608

Images and Observations

2004 XO's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 2, 2004. It was last officially observed on Dec. 15, 2004. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 97 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 XO:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2453346.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.034 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.0967
  • Inclination: 25.97°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 250.04°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 71.07°
  • Mean Anomaly: 97.3°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.162 km
  • Magnitude: 21.63

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 384 days (1.05 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 29.29 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.13 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.93 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2004 XO 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 XO 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.