264357 (2000 AZ93)

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 264357 (2000 AZ93)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller (0.11 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 8,564,198 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

264357 (2000 AZ93) is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2000 AZ93 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2000 AZ93 orbits the sun every 236 days (0.65 years), coming as close as 0.48 AU and reaching as far as 1.02 AU from the sun. 2000 AZ93 is about 0.1 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2000 AZ93'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.

2000 AZ93 has 28 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Dec. 16, 2019 8,564,198 9.531
Jan. 27, 2022 21,380,000 11.627
Jan. 6, 2031 6,059,269 7.745
Dec. 15, 2039 13,348,431 10.634
Jan. 26, 2042 16,979,509 10.446
Jan. 1, 2051 4,962,537 7.763
Dec. 15, 2059 15,231,470 11.068
Jan. 26, 2062 15,743,162 10.111
Jan. 2, 2071 5,208,297 7.767
Dec. 15, 2079 12,331,921 10.413
Jan. 27, 2082 18,508,137 10.860
Jan. 8, 2091 6,609,517 7.765
Dec. 17, 2099 7,813,509 9.431
Jan. 29, 2102 22,638,686 11.913
Jan. 13, 2111 7,498,959 7.869
Dec. 18, 2119 6,863,331 9.218
Jan. 29, 2122 23,325,133 12.088
Jan. 11, 2131 7,036,291 7.778
Dec. 17, 2139 10,228,507 9.984
Jan. 29, 2142 19,508,268 11.082
Jan. 4, 2151 5,680,921 7.728
Dec. 16, 2159 14,695,958 11.007
Jan. 27, 2162 15,957,696 10.106
Jan. 1, 2171 4,790,020 7.782
Dec. 16, 2179 14,347,072 10.921
Jan. 28, 2182 16,541,424 10.284
Jan. 5, 2191 5,981,036 7.727
Dec. 17, 2199 9,770,751 9.923

Images and Observations

2000 AZ93's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Jan. 7, 2000. It was last officially observed on Dec. 2, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 160 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 2000 AZ93:

References

Search

   or view a random object

Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.7469 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.36
  • Inclination: 8.59°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 277.33°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 8.15°
  • Mean Anomaly: 60.29°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 0.11300 km
  • Magnitude: 21.17
  • Albedo: 0.037

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 236 days (0.65 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 34.43 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.02 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.48 AU

Map Comparison

Click to load map

Orbit Simulation

⧉

Sky Map

The position of 264357 (2000 AZ93) 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 2000 AZ93 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.