Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 2,563,188 km of Earth in 2020
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2014 QJ33 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2014 QJ33 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.

2014 QJ33 orbits the sun every 439 days (1.20 years), coming as close as 0.77 AU and reaching as far as 1.49 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2014 QJ33 is probably between 0.032 to 0.142 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2014 QJ33's orbit is 0.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

2014 QJ33 has 16 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Sept. 17, 2020 2,563,188 8.663
Sept. 30, 2026 16,885,877 5.955
Nov. 11, 2032 29,308,928 7.719
Feb. 4, 2051 23,558,075 6.420
March 6, 2057 7,047,534 7.725
March 10, 2063 1,709,301 9.469
Sept. 25, 2073 12,377,554 6.721
Feb. 26, 2086 15,263,112 6.209
Sept. 18, 2096 1,310,107 9.154
Nov. 15, 2102 29,418,651 7.782
March 9, 2115 4,435,967 8.253
March 20, 2121 25,486,838 14.183
Sept. 13, 2125 15,160,314 12.064
March 16, 2156 13,778,159 11.818
Sept. 9, 2160 27,833,973 14.547
Sept. 20, 2166 2,758,532 8.653

Images and Observations

2014 QJ33's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Aug. 20, 2014. It was last officially observed on Sept. 17, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 219 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2014 QJ33 can be reached with a journey of 362 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 9.82 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 8,629 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2014 QJ33.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2014 QJ33:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.131 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3209
  • Inclination: 2.46°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 344.63°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 98.08°
  • Mean Anomaly: 120.55°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.087 km
  • Magnitude: 23.7

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 439 days (1.20 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 28.03 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.49 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.77 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2014 QJ33 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 QJ33 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.