Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 820,059 km of Earth in 2022
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2022 GL3 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2022 GL3 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 GL3 orbits the sun every 490 days (1.34 years), coming as close as 1.00 AU and reaching as far as 1.44 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2022 GL3 is probably between 0.006 to 0.028 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2022 GL3'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 GL3 has 5 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
April 16, 2022 820,059 5.399
May 27, 2026 18,518,495 5.669
March 26, 2065 28,844,423 9.836
April 10, 2069 5,231,152 5.960
June 7, 2077 22,304,152 6.266

Images and Observations

2022 GL3's orbit is determined by observations dating back to April 8, 2022. It was last officially observed on April 17, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 47 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2022 GL3 can be reached with a journey of 186 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 7.487 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 20,250 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2022 GL3.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2022 GL3:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.216 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1801
  • Inclination: 7.83°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 24.85°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 201.98°
  • Mean Anomaly: 3.81°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.017 km
  • Magnitude: 27.23

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 490 days (1.34 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 27.00 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.44 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 1.00 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2022 GL3 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.