265196 (2004 BW58)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 265196 (2004 BW58)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building (0.36 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 10,773,959 km of Earth in 2025
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

265196 (2004 BW58) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2004 BW58 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2004 BW58 orbits the sun every 641 days (1.75 years), coming as close as 0.90 AU and reaching as far as 2.01 AU from the sun. 2004 BW58 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.

The rotation of 2004 BW58 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 6.48 hours.

Close Approaches

2004 BW58's orbit is 0.04 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.

2004 BW58 has 10 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Jan. 22, 2025 10,773,959 10.499
Jan. 30, 2032 7,593,760 12.418
Feb. 6, 2039 27,288,063 15.853
Jan. 16, 2097 20,355,198 9.462
Jan. 28, 2104 5,566,562 11.506
Feb. 4, 2111 16,949,912 14.078
Jan. 16, 2176 21,656,980 9.384
Jan. 26, 2183 7,155,234 11.025
Jan. 31, 2190 8,237,650 12.599
Feb. 7, 2197 26,170,192 15.645

Images and Observations

2004 BW58's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Jan. 19, 2004. It was last officially observed on May 29, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 395 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 2004 BW58:

References

Search

   or view a random object

Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.455 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3785
  • Inclination: 15.21°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 132.62°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 301.83°
  • Mean Anomaly: 103.55°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 0.36100 km
  • Magnitude: 18.84
  • Albedo: 0.310

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 641 days (1.75 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 24.69 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.01 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.90 AU
  • Rotation Period: 6.48 hours

Map Comparison

Click to load map

Orbit Simulation

⧉

Sky Map

The position of 265196 (2004 BW58) 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 2004 BW58 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.