Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 692,216 km of Earth in 2022
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2022 AM is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2022 AM 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.

2022 AM orbits the sun every 384 days (1.05 years), coming as close as 0.71 AU and reaching as far as 1.35 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2022 AM is probably between 0.006 to 0.014 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2022 AM'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.

2022 AM has 6 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Jan. 6, 2022 692,216 10.584
June 29, 2025 29,317,466 7.486
Aug. 4, 2026 18,927,917 13.447
Jan. 6, 2043 3,416,584 11.185
July 31, 2047 10,280,957 11.050
Jan. 9, 2110 10,060,221 8.798

Images and Observations

2022 AM's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Jan. 5, 2022. It was last officially observed on Jan. 6, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 42 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 2022 AM:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.033 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3086
  • Inclination: 9.06°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 104.38°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 101.23°
  • Mean Anomaly: 152.74°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.008 km
  • Magnitude: 28.18

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 384 days (1.05 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 29.27 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.35 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.71 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2022 AM 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.