Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 872,007 km of Earth in 2022
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2022 KS is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2022 KS 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 KS orbits the sun every 485 days (1.33 years), coming as close as 0.90 AU and reaching as far as 1.51 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2022 KS is probably between 0.008 to 0.035 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2022 KS'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 KS has 7 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
May 17, 2022 872,007 6.479
April 24, 2026 10,724,386 4.833
Jan. 14, 2038 8,380,667 7.543
Jan. 5, 2042 26,985,917 11.603
June 1, 2079 26,321,201 11.462
May 23, 2083 7,342,328 7.758
May 13, 2087 3,439,145 5.695

Images and Observations

2022 KS's orbit is determined by observations dating back to May 22, 2022. It was last officially observed on June 1, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 63 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2022 KS can be reached with a journey of 346 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 7.17 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 114,434 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

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

Similar Objects

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

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.208 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.2525
  • Inclination: 2.48°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 242.17°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 291.64°
  • Mean Anomaly: 37.6°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.021 km
  • Magnitude: 26.76

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 485 days (1.33 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 27.10 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.51 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.90 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2022 KS 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.