2011 CT4

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2011 CT4

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 10,622,304 km of Earth in 2020
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2011 CT4 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2011 CT4 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2011 CT4 orbits the sun every 828 days (2.27 years), coming as close as 0.49 AU and reaching as far as 2.97 AU from the sun. Its orbit is highly elliptical. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2011 CT4 is probably between 0.207 to 0.463 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

The rotation of 2011 CT4 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 3.93 hours.

Close Approaches

2011 CT4'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.

2011 CT4 has 11 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Jan. 13, 2020 10,622,304 20.814
June 13, 2042 26,448,144 28.122
Jan. 16, 2054 3,932,582 22.194
June 18, 2076 10,601,235 24.960
Jan. 21, 2088 11,102,914 25.244
June 23, 2110 3,552,452 22.880
Jan. 25, 2122 21,750,972 27.362
June 28, 2144 13,053,528 20.504
Jan. 9, 2147 27,365,669 17.469
June 19, 2169 13,867,988 25.619
Jan. 24, 2181 15,329,884 26.079

Images and Observations

2011 CT4's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Feb. 4, 2011. It was last officially observed on Feb. 19, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 330 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 2011 CT4:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.726 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.7186
  • Inclination: 2.65°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 304.78°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 69.65°
  • Mean Anomaly: 242.2°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.268 km
  • Magnitude: 20.54

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 828 days (2.27 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 22.68 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.97 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.49 AU
  • Rotation Period: 3.93 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2011 CT4 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 2011 CT4 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.