2017 GK4

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2017 GK4

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 18,423,937 km of Earth in 2026
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2017 GK4 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2017 GK4 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2017 GK4 orbits the sun every 554 days (1.52 years), coming as close as 0.81 AU and reaching as far as 1.83 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2017 GK4 is probably between 0.117 to 0.261 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

The rotation of 2017 GK4 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 0.30 hours.

Close Approaches

2017 GK4's orbit is 0.04 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.

2017 GK4 has 13 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Sept. 28, 2026 18,423,937 12.168
Oct. 4, 2029 24,388,559 17.065
April 19, 2061 6,458,681 13.966
Sept. 26, 2070 28,642,189 10.392
Oct. 1, 2073 15,479,573 14.769
April 16, 2105 14,690,159 16.078
April 26, 2108 18,288,061 11.459
Sept. 29, 2117 16,192,504 12.675
Oct. 6, 2120 26,454,197 17.594
April 20, 2152 6,928,750 13.994
Oct. 2, 2164 14,267,548 14.360
April 14, 2196 21,032,535 17.231
April 24, 2199 12,984,829 12.322

Images and Observations

2017 GK4's orbit is determined by observations dating back to March 16, 2017. It was last officially observed on Feb. 15, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 159 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 2017 GK4:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.32 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3857
  • Inclination: 16.36°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 202.62°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 83.1°
  • Mean Anomaly: 39.11°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.150 km
  • Magnitude: 21.79

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 554 days (1.52 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 25.92 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.83 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.81 AU
  • Rotation Period: 0.30 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2017 GK4 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 2017 GK4 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.