Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field (0.30 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 23,609,724 km of Earth in 2033
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2014 QK434 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2014 QK434 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2014 QK434 orbits the sun every 988 days (2.70 years), coming as close as 0.96 AU and reaching as far as 2.92 AU from the sun. 2014 QK434 is about 0.3 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, comparable in size to a football field.

The rotation of 2014 QK434 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 78.40 hours.

Close Approaches

2014 QK434'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.

2014 QK434 has 7 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Oct. 7, 2033 23,609,724 12.089
Oct. 29, 2060 9,742,250 8.507
Oct. 22, 2087 12,654,584 9.295
Jan. 1, 2123 20,144,930 12.138
Dec. 19, 2149 5,533,855 9.157
Oct. 6, 2168 29,214,031 13.328
Nov. 28, 2195 4,128,732 7.891

Images and Observations

2014 QK434's orbit is determined by observations dating back to July 1, 2014. It was last officially observed on Jan. 13, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 251 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 QK434:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.941 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5033
  • Inclination: 5.98°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 252.25°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 166.11°
  • Mean Anomaly: 88.27°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 0.29600 km
  • Magnitude: 19.26
  • Albedo: 0.461

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 988 days (2.70 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 21.37 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.92 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.96 AU
  • Rotation Period: 78.40 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2014 QK434 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 QK434 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.