2005 XT77

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 2005 XT77

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 19,057,744 km of Earth in 2022
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2005 XT77 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2005 XT77 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2005 XT77 orbits the sun every 282 days (0.77 years), coming as close as 0.62 AU and reaching as far as 1.07 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2005 XT77 is probably between 0.139 to 0.310 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2005 XT77's orbit is 0.03 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.

2005 XT77 has 18 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Dec. 21, 2022 19,057,744 13.040
Dec. 17, 2032 6,362,420 10.071
Nov. 29, 2042 27,519,784 9.777
Dec. 21, 2049 14,341,927 12.262
Dec. 17, 2059 8,053,668 9.924
Nov. 26, 2069 29,540,514 9.854
Dec. 20, 2076 7,853,254 11.267
Dec. 11, 2086 16,526,271 9.617
Dec. 22, 2103 8,391,353 11.343
Dec. 15, 2113 11,324,598 9.745
Dec. 22, 2130 8,703,012 11.377
Dec. 15, 2140 11,563,950 9.735
Dec. 1, 2150 26,634,650 9.756
Dec. 22, 2157 19,756,500 13.126
Dec. 20, 2167 4,351,230 10.380
Dec. 5, 2177 23,293,803 9.650
Dec. 22, 2184 19,093,615 13.013
Dec. 19, 2194 5,491,591 10.159

Images and Observations

2005 XT77's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 6, 2005. It was last officially observed on Dec. 1, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 122 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 XT77:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.841 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.2665
  • Inclination: 17.22°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 84.79°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 150.0°
  • Mean Anomaly: 224.52°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.179 km
  • Magnitude: 21.41

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 282 days (0.77 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 32.44 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.07 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.62 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2005 XT77 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 XT77 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.