2011 TC4

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2011 TC4

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 12,729,868 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2011 TC4 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2011 TC4 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2011 TC4 orbits the sun every 665 days (1.82 years), coming as close as 0.42 AU and reaching as far as 2.56 AU from the sun. Its orbit is highly elliptical. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2011 TC4 is probably between 0.229 to 0.513 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2011 TC4's orbit is 0.02 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.

2011 TC4 has 11 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
June 12, 2019 12,729,868 21.382
Oct. 28, 2022 10,073,786 25.349
June 20, 2039 16,821,860 26.378
Nov. 4, 2042 13,020,647 20.853
June 14, 2090 8,861,885 22.493
Oct. 30, 2093 4,760,917 24.174
June 21, 2110 16,911,678 26.383
Nov. 5, 2113 13,525,470 20.758
June 8, 2161 27,504,859 18.258
June 13, 2181 15,323,027 20.839
Oct. 28, 2184 15,978,387 26.543

Images and Observations

2011 TC4's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 3, 2011. It was last officially observed on Oct. 28, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 234 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 TC4:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.491 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.7197
  • Inclination: 3.13°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 200.68°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 309.41°
  • Mean Anomaly: 147.74°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.296 km
  • Magnitude: 20.32

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 665 days (1.82 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 24.39 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.56 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.42 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2011 TC4 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 TC4 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.