Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 13,406,965 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2022 AV4 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2022 AV4 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 AV4 orbits the sun every 548 days (1.50 years), coming as close as 1.01 AU and reaching as far as 1.61 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2022 AV4 is probably between 0.012 to 0.055 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2022 AV4'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.

2022 AV4 has 17 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Feb. 23, 2019 13,406,965 4.405
Feb. 7, 2022 7,335,033 3.408
Feb. 3, 2025 6,434,120 3.385
Feb. 12, 2028 8,807,169 3.536
March 2, 2031 16,875,357 5.236
March 15, 2034 29,882,332 8.184
Jan. 8, 2102 29,060,670 8.716
Jan. 16, 2105 14,843,504 5.871
Jan. 25, 2108 6,721,512 4.113
Jan. 28, 2111 5,698,779 3.751
Jan. 25, 2114 6,370,435 4.002
Jan. 17, 2117 13,024,325 5.507
Jan. 11, 2120 26,564,619 8.198
March 13, 2190 22,716,665 6.541
Feb. 24, 2193 12,046,747 3.993
Feb. 8, 2196 7,190,706 3.308
Feb. 5, 2199 6,367,372 3.356

Images and Observations

2022 AV4's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Jan. 7, 2022. It was last officially observed on March 12, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 30 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2022 AV4 can be reached with a journey of 386 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 9.329 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 65,516 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2022 AV4.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2022 AV4:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.31 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.2266
  • Inclination: 4.31°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 114.08°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 24.49°
  • Mean Anomaly: 21.85°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.034 km
  • Magnitude: 25.75

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 548 days (1.50 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 26.01 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.61 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 1.01 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2022 AV4 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 2022 AV4 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.