Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 25,483,739 km of Earth in 2020
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2022 GO3 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2022 GO3 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 GO3 orbits the sun every 369 days (1.01 years), coming as close as 0.67 AU and reaching as far as 1.34 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2022 GO3 is probably between 0.007 to 0.033 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2022 GO3'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 GO3 has 9 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
April 5, 2020 25,483,739 6.667
March 30, 2021 13,336,585 8.019
March 31, 2022 1,324,577 10.183
April 2, 2023 6,529,712 11.594
April 3, 2024 15,328,219 13.262
April 6, 2025 24,559,115 15.077
Aug. 23, 2106 27,016,436 14.855
Aug. 26, 2107 20,634,333 13.394
April 2, 2138 1,234,031 10.148

NASA Sentry has assessed impact risk for 1 very close approach scenarios. Here are the top scenarios ordered by probability of impact:

Date Probability of Impact (%) Impact Energy (Mt)
April 3, 2119 0.00001 0.1087

Images and Observations

2022 GO3's orbit is determined by observations dating back to April 3, 2022. It was last officially observed on April 10, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 19 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2022 GO3 can be reached with a journey of 418 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 11.591 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 211 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2022 GO3.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2022 GO3:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.006 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3337
  • Inclination: 7.71°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 192.46°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 249.77°
  • Mean Anomaly: 228.36°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.020 km
  • Magnitude: 26.85

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 369 days (1.01 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 29.66 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.34 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.67 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2022 GO3 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.