Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 2,244,996 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2019 KD4 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2019 KD4 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.

2019 KD4 orbits the sun every 424 days (1.16 years), coming as close as 0.94 AU and reaching as far as 1.27 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2019 KD4 is probably between 0.004 to 0.020 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2019 KD4's orbit is 0.01 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.

2019 KD4 has 3 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
May 18, 2019 2,244,996 4.295
Jan. 11, 2026 8,921,503 4.533
Jan. 4, 2055 29,105,623 9.401

Images and Observations

2019 KD4's orbit is determined by observations dating back to May 25, 2019. It was last officially observed on June 1, 2019. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 10 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2019 KD4 can be reached with a journey of 362 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 6.189 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 186,083 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2019 KD4.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2019 KD4:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.104 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1466
  • Inclination: 4.29°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 246.42°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 284.65°
  • Mean Anomaly: 311.5°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.012 km
  • Magnitude: 28.0

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 424 days (1.16 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 28.33 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.27 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.94 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2019 KD4 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.