2022 TW2

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
• Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
• Will pass within 269,227 km of Earth in 2022
• Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

2022 TW2 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2022 TW2 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 TW2 orbits the sun every 320 days (0.88 years), coming as close as 0.79 AU and reaching as far as 1.04 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2022 TW2 is probably between 0.003 to 0.015 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2022 TW2'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 TW2 has 8 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

NASA Sentry has assessed impact risk for 176 very close approach scenarios. Here are the top scenarios ordered by probability of impact:

Images and Observations

2022 TW2's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 15, 2022. It was last officially observed on Oct. 26, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 59 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2022 TW2 can be reached with a journey of 354 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 5.696 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 517,640 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2022 TW2.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2022 TW2:

• 65679 (1989 UQ)
• 96590 (1998 XB)
• 99942 Apophis (2004 MN4)

References

• JPL Small Body Database
• Mission Design
• Sky Finder Chart

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2022 TW2 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.