2008 HU4 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2008 HU4 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.
2008 HU4 orbits the sun every 405 days (1.11 years), coming as close as 1.01 AU and reaching as far as 1.13 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2008 HU4 is probably between 0.004 to 0.017 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.
2008 HU4's orbit is 0.01 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.
2008 HU4 has 14 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:
| Date | Distance from Earth (km) | Velocity (km/s) |
|---|---|---|
| March 28, 2026 | 19,274,380 | 4.700 |
| Aug. 31, 2026 | 15,969,231 | 1.887 |
| Nov. 7, 2036 | 20,049,159 | 2.780 |
| Jan. 18, 2047 | 14,019,563 | 1.537 |
| June 5, 2047 | 13,813,158 | 3.623 |
| Feb. 20, 2057 | 10,959,243 | 0.558 |
| May 29, 2057 | 7,868,059 | 2.422 |
| Oct. 23, 2066 | 21,744,485 | 2.968 |
| May 9, 2076 | 1,659,002 | 1.352 |
| Jan. 5, 2084 | 22,016,043 | 2.689 |
| June 18, 2084 | 28,213,816 | 6.718 |
| Nov. 13, 2091 | 27,602,887 | 3.636 |
| Sept. 24, 2099 | 24,309,588 | 3.009 |
| April 13, 2107 | 5,527,319 | 2.241 |
2008 HU4's orbit is determined by observations dating back to April 30, 2008. It was last officially observed on April 27, 2016. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 76 observations used to determine its orbit.
2008 HU4 can be reached with a journey of 378 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 5.307 km/s. To put this into perspective, the delta-v to launch a rocket to Low-Earth Orbit is 9.7 km/s. There are 745,243 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.
See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2008 HU4.
The position of 2008 HU4 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.