2005 GY8

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2005 GY8

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 10,684,749 km of Earth in 2040
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2005 GY8 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2005 GY8 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2005 GY8 orbits the sun every 1,070 days (2.93 years), coming as close as 0.67 AU and reaching as far as 3.43 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2005 GY8 is probably between 0.111 to 0.248 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

Close Approaches

2005 GY8'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.

2005 GY8 has 9 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Sept. 21, 2040 10,684,749 17.211
April 29, 2046 26,418,178 14.405
Oct. 2, 2075 13,955,733 21.863
April 8, 2084 14,070,459 21.837
Oct. 6, 2116 29,431,030 24.586
Sept. 5, 2119 28,777,431 13.737
April 12, 2128 12,789,759 21.039
Sept. 29, 2172 9,446,002 20.283
April 21, 2184 5,495,414 17.887

Images and Observations

2005 GY8's orbit is determined by observations dating back to April 2, 2005. It was last officially observed on April 8, 2008. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 115 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 2005 GY8:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 2.048 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.673
  • Inclination: 2.83°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 179.66°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 103.49°
  • Mean Anomaly: 79.2°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.143 km
  • Magnitude: 21.9

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 1,070 days (2.93 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 20.82 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 3.43 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.67 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2005 GY8 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 2005 GY8 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.