2008 AZ30

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2008 AZ30

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 8,355,662 km of Earth in 2028
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2008 AZ30 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2008 AZ30 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2008 AZ30 orbits the sun every 562 days (1.54 years), coming as close as 0.46 AU and reaching as far as 2.20 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2008 AZ30 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

2008 AZ30'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.

2008 AZ30 has 14 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Jan. 6, 2028 8,355,662 22.797
Jan. 6, 2048 8,188,071 22.725
Jan. 4, 2068 4,139,721 21.203
May 29, 2075 23,041,651 16.987
Dec. 29, 2087 22,634,661 16.858
May 21, 2095 6,693,212 21.838
Jan. 8, 2111 10,226,977 23.218
June 1, 2118 28,494,150 15.885
Dec. 30, 2130 20,422,213 17.285
May 23, 2138 6,285,711 21.601
Jan. 9, 2154 14,337,208 24.103
Jan. 4, 2174 6,776,611 20.188
May 29, 2181 19,091,846 17.786
Jan. 2, 2194 13,560,825 18.715

Images and Observations

2008 AZ30's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Jan. 12, 2008. It was last officially observed on April 11, 2018. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 67 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 2008 AZ30:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.333 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.6538
  • Inclination: 2.34°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 326.62°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 25.89°
  • Mean Anomaly: 101.87°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.143 km
  • Magnitude: 21.9

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 562 days (1.54 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 25.80 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.20 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.46 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2008 AZ30 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 2008 AZ30 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.