252399 (2001 TX44)

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 252399 (2001 TX44)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field (0.29 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 27,543,484 km of Earth in 2051
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

252399 (2001 TX44) is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2001 TX44 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2001 TX44 orbits the sun every 299 days (0.82 years), coming as close as 0.40 AU and reaching as far as 1.35 AU from the sun. 2001 TX44 is about 0.3 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2001 TX44's orbit is 0.01 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

2001 TX44 has 10 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Nov. 17, 2051 27,543,484 22.883
Nov. 17, 2060 22,054,335 21.765
Nov. 18, 2069 18,924,522 21.113
Nov. 19, 2078 17,551,171 20.827
Nov. 19, 2087 19,014,544 21.140
Nov. 17, 2096 22,945,840 21.922
Nov. 18, 2105 27,431,660 22.841
Nov. 20, 2181 29,299,652 13.369
Nov. 21, 2190 27,388,222 13.525
Nov. 21, 2199 27,321,800 13.527

Images and Observations

2001 TX44's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 19, 2001. It was last officially observed on Sept. 29, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 295 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 2001 TX44:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.8748 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.546
  • Inclination: 15.21°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 57.76°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 136.04°
  • Mean Anomaly: 140.69°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 0.29100 km
  • Magnitude: 19.45
  • Albedo: 0.478

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 299 days (0.82 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 31.83 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.35 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.40 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 252399 (2001 TX44) 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 2001 TX44 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.