2008 SS

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 2008 SS

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 17,738,540 km of Earth in 2025
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2008 SS is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2008 SS 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 SS orbits the sun every 327 days (0.90 years), coming as close as 0.48 AU and reaching as far as 1.37 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2008 SS is probably between 0.097 to 0.218 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2008 SS's orbit is 0.05 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 SS has 21 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Oct. 3, 2025 17,738,540 14.542
Sept. 29, 2034 29,460,531 21.877
Oct. 4, 2042 17,255,926 14.616
Sept. 29, 2051 29,191,846 21.834
Oct. 4, 2059 18,157,532 14.509
Sept. 29, 2068 27,486,486 21.488
Oct. 3, 2076 20,309,273 14.252
Sept. 30, 2085 24,747,774 20.940
Oct. 3, 2093 22,994,108 13.973
Oct. 2, 2102 21,935,829 20.404
Oct. 3, 2110 25,323,772 13.777
Oct. 2, 2119 19,746,337 19.972
Oct. 3, 2127 26,936,016 13.659
Oct. 2, 2136 18,503,104 19.707
Oct. 2, 2144 27,619,245 13.598
Oct. 2, 2153 18,448,377 19.693
Oct. 3, 2161 27,034,352 13.634
Oct. 2, 2170 19,798,215 19.964
Oct. 4, 2178 25,361,963 13.781
Oct. 2, 2187 21,923,861 20.365
Oct. 4, 2195 23,402,882 13.957

Images and Observations

2008 SS's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 21, 2008. It was last officially observed on Oct. 5, 2008. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 58 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 SS:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.9284 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4792
  • Inclination: 21.14°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 5.03°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 135.04°
  • Mean Anomaly: 168.01°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.126 km
  • Magnitude: 22.18

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 327 days (0.90 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 30.89 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.37 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.48 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2008 SS 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 SS 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.