Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 12,007,442 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2021 KO2 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2021 KO2 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.

2021 KO2 orbits the sun every 363 days (0.99 years), coming as close as 0.57 AU and reaching as far as 1.42 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2021 KO2 is probably between 0.007 to 0.015 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2021 KO2'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.

2021 KO2 has 9 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
June 2, 2019 12,007,442 16.984
May 31, 2020 5,669,618 15.888
May 30, 2021 370,621 15.000
May 30, 2022 1,184,463 14.752
May 29, 2023 6,041,239 13.949
May 28, 2024 11,711,005 13.062
May 27, 2025 17,695,480 12.234
May 28, 2026 23,739,872 11.479
May 29, 2027 29,783,884 10.879

Images and Observations

2021 KO2's orbit is determined by observations dating back to May 30, 2021. It was last officially observed on June 1, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 20 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 2021 KO2:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.9958 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4244
  • Inclination: 16.86°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 69.01°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 62.18°
  • Mean Anomaly: 175.27°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.009 km
  • Magnitude: 28.02

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 363 days (0.99 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 29.84 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.42 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.57 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2021 KO2 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.