2007 CT26

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 2007 CT26

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 16,903,959 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2007 CT26 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2007 CT26 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.

2007 CT26 orbits the sun every 289 days (0.79 years), coming as close as 0.52 AU and reaching as far as 1.19 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2007 CT26 is probably between 0.054 to 0.120 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2007 CT26'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.

2007 CT26 has 44 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
May 10, 2019 16,903,959 13.762
Feb. 10, 2022 23,058,785 15.527
Feb. 16, 2026 15,572,994 8.280
March 31, 2030 28,569,118 8.476
May 9, 2034 10,061,082 9.428
Feb. 7, 2041 7,141,662 12.169
Feb. 28, 2045 23,089,336 8.177
April 7, 2049 27,618,096 8.364
May 10, 2053 8,636,358 9.889
Feb. 9, 2060 10,404,442 12.848
Feb. 23, 2064 20,362,849 8.127
April 1, 2068 28,569,485 8.461
May 8, 2072 11,932,988 8.973
May 7, 2076 27,180,256 16.085
Feb. 9, 2079 12,986,055 13.373
Feb. 26, 2083 21,705,621 8.126
April 13, 2087 26,282,940 8.236
May 11, 2091 11,255,883 12.328
Feb. 12, 2094 26,768,580 16.275
Feb. 19, 2098 17,444,055 8.131
April 12, 2102 26,596,214 8.276
May 12, 2106 12,350,941 12.604
Feb. 12, 2109 23,811,727 15.643
Feb. 24, 2113 20,169,937 8.103
April 16, 2117 25,473,548 8.176
May 11, 2121 13,762,819 12.999
Feb. 12, 2124 21,386,266 15.127
Feb. 28, 2128 21,703,300 8.135
April 23, 2132 22,468,985 8.035
May 8, 2136 25,877,827 15.744
Feb. 10, 2139 5,801,149 11.830
March 18, 2143 27,465,669 8.414
May 8, 2147 14,174,790 8.523
Feb. 9, 2154 2,533,176 11.179
March 5, 2158 24,384,491 8.216
April 9, 2162 27,756,803 8.344
May 11, 2166 11,156,576 9.112
May 10, 2170 23,441,635 15.246
Feb. 12, 2173 23,124,190 15.510
Feb. 11, 2177 8,063,469 9.171
March 16, 2181 27,681,788 8.416
April 23, 2185 23,473,360 8.058
May 12, 2189 11,010,114 12.252
Feb. 15, 2196 11,939,801 8.556

Images and Observations

2007 CT26's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Feb. 13, 2007. It was last officially observed on Feb. 25, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 116 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 2007 CT26:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.8552 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3869
  • Inclination: 2.89°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 321.55°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 44.65°
  • Mean Anomaly: 86.38°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.069 km
  • Magnitude: 23.48

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 289 days (0.79 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 32.19 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.19 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.52 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2007 CT26 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 2007 CT26 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.