2014 SP142

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2014 SP142

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 22,133,516 km of Earth in 2089
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2014 SP142 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2014 SP142 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2014 SP142 orbits the sun every 457 days (1.25 years), coming as close as 0.67 AU and reaching as far as 1.65 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2014 SP142 is probably between 0.121 to 0.272 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

Close Approaches

2014 SP142'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 SP142 has 14 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Jan. 23, 2089 22,133,516 8.929
Jan. 19, 2094 13,849,487 10.528
Jan. 19, 2099 12,921,371 10.722
Jan. 21, 2104 14,336,627 10.443
Jan. 21, 2109 17,532,226 9.818
Jan. 25, 2114 22,302,799 8.922
Feb. 3, 2119 28,601,319 8.104
July 22, 2159 17,926,076 9.788
July 27, 2164 2,703,244 12.690
July 29, 2169 2,297,617 13.646
Jan. 6, 2173 28,896,172 18.967
Aug. 4, 2174 21,051,112 17.265
Jan. 12, 2178 9,653,726 15.062
Jan. 18, 2183 8,128,048 11.699

Images and Observations

2014 SP142's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Aug. 1, 2014. It was last officially observed on Aug. 20, 2019. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 48 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 SP142:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.161 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4201
  • Inclination: 5.57°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 125.18°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 81.24°
  • Mean Anomaly: 168.59°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.157 km
  • Magnitude: 21.7

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 457 days (1.25 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 27.64 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.65 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.67 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2014 SP142 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 SP142 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.