Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 26,678,171 km of Earth in 2022
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2022 YL5 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2022 YL5 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 YL5 orbits the sun every 351 days (0.96 years), coming as close as 0.80 AU and reaching as far as 1.15 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2022 YL5 is probably between 0.025 to 0.113 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2022 YL5's orbit is 0.02 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 YL5 has 12 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Jan. 1, 2022 26,678,171 12.271
Dec. 31, 2022 8,706,151 7.091
June 18, 2025 16,627,242 7.704
Dec. 30, 2047 3,622,504 8.090
Jan. 27, 2049 29,484,946 6.440
July 1, 2050 20,711,453 7.474
May 31, 2051 22,397,529 10.155
Jan. 1, 2073 26,237,150 12.175
Dec. 31, 2073 8,959,094 7.075
Dec. 30, 2098 3,481,935 8.040
May 31, 2102 23,810,548 10.447
Dec. 31, 2149 3,769,587 7.793

Images and Observations

2022 YL5's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 24, 2022. It was last officially observed on Feb. 1, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 47 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2022 YL5 can be reached with a journey of 354 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 9.764 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 5,768 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2022 YL5.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2022 YL5:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.9746 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1769
  • Inclination: 11.51°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 282.61°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 66.55°
  • Mean Anomaly: 355.32°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.069 km
  • Magnitude: 24.19

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 351 days (0.96 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 30.21 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.15 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.80 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2022 YL5 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 YL5 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.