250680 (2005 QC5)

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 250680 (2005 QC5)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building (0.40 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 7,273,092 km of Earth in 2027
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

250680 (2005 QC5) is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2005 QC5 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2005 QC5 orbits the sun every 308 days (0.84 years), coming as close as 0.57 AU and reaching as far as 1.22 AU from the sun. 2005 QC5 is about 0.4 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 90% of asteroids but tiny compared to large asteroids, comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building.

Close Approaches

2005 QC5's orbit is 0.05 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.

2005 QC5 has 25 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Oct. 27, 2027 7,273,092 10.881
July 1, 2037 20,643,044 10.595
Oct. 21, 2038 23,070,688 15.410
June 26, 2048 29,221,011 7.092
Oct. 25, 2054 17,310,526 8.475
July 5, 2064 23,819,352 13.111
Oct. 24, 2065 11,483,296 12.880
June 28, 2075 25,076,408 8.224
Oct. 20, 2081 23,618,039 7.757
July 8, 2091 26,459,036 14.005
Oct. 25, 2092 8,513,002 12.085
June 29, 2102 26,176,623 7.891
Oct. 25, 2108 18,699,559 8.260
July 6, 2118 21,965,169 12.191
Oct. 24, 2119 16,549,206 14.020
Oct. 28, 2135 8,241,254 10.299
July 2, 2145 21,437,675 9.810
Oct. 21, 2146 28,606,112 16.530
Oct. 18, 2151 25,907,292 7.676
July 9, 2161 28,010,441 14.438
Oct. 27, 2162 7,206,264 11.634
June 29, 2172 26,275,374 7.875
Oct. 27, 2178 14,903,087 8.821
July 4, 2188 21,063,986 11.399
Oct. 23, 2189 20,485,755 14.845

Images and Observations

2005 QC5's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 24, 1978. It was last officially observed on Oct. 29, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 125 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

This asteroid is not considered a viable target for human exploration by the NHATS study.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2005 QC5:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.893 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3645
  • Inclination: 9.45°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 48.05°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 108.72°
  • Mean Anomaly: 317.61°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 0.39800 km
  • Magnitude: 19.63
  • Albedo: 0.147

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 308 days (0.84 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 31.54 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.22 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.57 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 250680 (2005 QC5) 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 2005 QC5 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.