2014 NB52

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2014 NB52

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 27,052,928 km of Earth in 2021
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2014 NB52 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2014 NB52 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2014 NB52 orbits the sun every 512 days (1.40 years), coming as close as 0.78 AU and reaching as far as 1.72 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2014 NB52 is probably between 0.108 to 0.241 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

Close Approaches

2014 NB52'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.

2014 NB52 has 12 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
July 18, 2021 27,052,928 15.318
Dec. 24, 2063 23,756,557 14.630
Dec. 30, 2070 12,272,574 15.655
Jan. 3, 2078 6,675,261 16.788
Jan. 7, 2085 13,243,213 18.213
Jan. 13, 2092 25,702,494 20.127
July 19, 2115 27,264,394 15.682
Dec. 23, 2157 26,325,489 14.490
Dec. 30, 2164 14,146,086 15.471
Jan. 4, 2172 7,041,299 16.595
Jan. 8, 2179 11,045,512 17.840
Jan. 13, 2186 22,788,544 19.648

Images and Observations

2014 NB52's orbit is determined by observations dating back to June 21, 2014. It was last officially observed on July 31, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 62 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 2014 NB52:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.253 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3737
  • Inclination: 24.41°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 279.38°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 115.35°
  • Mean Anomaly: 137.07°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.139 km
  • Magnitude: 21.96

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 512 days (1.40 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 26.62 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.72 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.78 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2014 NB52 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 2014 NB52 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.