Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Amor-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 25,693,820 km of Earth in 2020
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2008 PG2 is a very small asteroid whose orbit approaches the orbit of Earth but does not cross it. NASA JPL has classified 2008 PG2 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 PG2 orbits the sun every 444 days (1.22 years), coming as close as 1.09 AU and reaching as far as 1.19 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2008 PG2 is probably between 0.048 to 0.214 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2008 PG2's orbit is 0.10 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 PG2 has 22 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Jan. 14, 2020 25,693,820 4.737
Aug. 4, 2025 21,194,700 4.624
Dec. 28, 2036 27,609,640 4.129
July 20, 2042 26,962,274 4.448
March 5, 2048 29,150,033 5.145
Sept. 24, 2053 26,650,153 4.725
Feb. 22, 2065 26,745,007 5.237
Sept. 10, 2070 20,744,402 4.812
Feb. 14, 2082 25,323,964 5.232
Sept. 3, 2087 17,494,422 4.731
Feb. 8, 2099 24,648,739 5.197
Aug. 29, 2104 16,199,052 4.683
Feb. 6, 2116 24,362,195 5.167
Aug. 27, 2121 15,796,683 4.660
Feb. 3, 2133 24,238,482 5.141
Aug. 25, 2138 15,704,203 4.649
Jan. 31, 2150 24,176,784 5.101
Aug. 22, 2155 15,915,746 4.643
Jan. 27, 2167 24,274,257 5.034
Aug. 17, 2172 16,751,670 4.639
Jan. 21, 2184 24,761,651 4.897
Aug. 10, 2189 19,259,717 4.640

Images and Observations

2008 PG2's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Aug. 3, 2008. It was last officially observed on Jan. 28, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 72 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2008 PG2 can be reached with a journey of 362 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 8.094 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 36,847 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2008 PG2.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2008 PG2:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.139 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.0421
  • Inclination: 8.96°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 325.03°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 67.52°
  • Mean Anomaly: 79.63°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.131 km
  • Magnitude: 22.8

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 444 days (1.22 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 27.91 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.19 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 1.09 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2008 PG2 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 PG2 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.