2008 OO8

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
• Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
• Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

2008 OO8 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2008 OO8 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 OO8 orbits the sun every 1,070 days (2.93 years), coming as close as 1.01 AU and reaching as far as 3.09 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2008 OO8 is probably between 0.024 to 0.054 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2008 OO8'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.

Orbital simulations conducted by NASA JPL's CNEOS do not show any close approaches to Earth.

NASA Sentry has assessed impact risk for 1 very close approach scenarios. Here are the top scenarios ordered by probability of impact:

Images and Observations

2008 OO8's orbit is determined by observations dating back to July 30, 2008. It was last officially observed on Aug. 24, 2008. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 37 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 OO8:

• 5402 Kejosmith (1989 UK2)
• 8567 (1996 HW1)
• 54420 (2000 LT20)

References

• JPL Small Body Database
• Mission Design
• Sky Finder Chart

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2008 OO8 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 OO8 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.