2014 SJ262

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2014 SJ262

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 28,043,230 km of Earth in 2020
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2014 SJ262 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2014 SJ262 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 SJ262 orbits the sun every 440 days (1.20 years), coming as close as 1.00 AU and reaching as far as 1.27 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2014 SJ262 is probably between 0.014 to 0.062 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2014 SJ262's orbit is 0.06 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 SJ262 has 12 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
April 1, 2020 28,043,230 4.102
Sept. 15, 2020 18,278,319 6.750
May 16, 2055 17,842,934 6.314
May 13, 2061 11,895,718 3.933
Sept. 16, 2067 9,568,727 4.120
Sept. 15, 2073 16,881,375 6.500
May 16, 2108 19,822,801 6.694
Sept. 16, 2120 9,714,047 3.968
May 16, 2161 21,986,192 7.136
May 16, 2167 11,992,677 4.230
Sept. 17, 2173 9,958,708 3.859
Sept. 17, 2179 12,785,695 5.681

Images and Observations

2014 SJ262's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 27, 2014. It was last officially observed on Oct. 19, 2014. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 45 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2014 SJ262 can be reached with a journey of 250 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 8.426 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 43,216 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2014 SJ262.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2014 SJ262:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.132 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1192
  • Inclination: 6.07°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 199.04°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 96.77°
  • Mean Anomaly: 214.69°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.038 km
  • Magnitude: 25.5

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 440 days (1.20 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 27.99 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.27 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 1.00 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2014 SJ262 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 SJ262 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.