Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 3,345,655 km of Earth in 2021
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2017 HG4 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2017 HG4 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.

2017 HG4 orbits the sun every 294 days (0.80 years), coming as close as 0.71 AU and reaching as far as 1.02 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2017 HG4 is probably between 0.005 to 0.022 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2017 HG4'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.

2017 HG4 has 13 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
April 16, 2021 3,345,655 4.201
April 12, 2025 26,724,409 9.062
June 13, 2042 25,250,981 8.502
June 1, 2046 5,583,022 3.635
April 17, 2050 1,838,613 3.921
Feb. 8, 2063 28,158,014 3.386
June 15, 2063 12,618,842 5.559
April 13, 2067 11,196,427 5.734
Aug. 18, 2067 27,817,021 3.278
June 15, 2080 21,443,902 7.504
April 16, 2084 3,552,660 4.159
April 10, 2097 8,950,325 5.491
Aug. 23, 2097 28,203,665 3.712

Images and Observations

2017 HG4's orbit is determined by observations dating back to April 26, 2017. It was last officially observed on May 15, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 38 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2017 HG4 can be reached with a journey of 418 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 7.199 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 189,509 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2017 HG4.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2017 HG4:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.8655 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1841
  • Inclination: 3.0°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 210.46°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 205.76°
  • Mean Anomaly: 133.41°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.014 km
  • Magnitude: 27.7

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 294 days (0.80 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 32.03 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.02 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.71 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2017 HG4 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.