269690 (1996 RG3)

Small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 269690 (1996 RG3)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge (0.89 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 9,907,087 km of Earth in 2030
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

269690 (1996 RG3) is a small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 1996 RG3 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

1996 RG3 orbits the sun every 1,030 days (2.82 years), coming as close as 0.79 AU and reaching as far as 3.21 AU from the sun. 1996 RG3 is about 0.9 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than ~97% of asteroids but small compared to large asteroids, comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge.

Close Approaches

1996 RG3's orbit is 0.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

1996 RG3 has 11 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Nov. 2, 2030 9,907,087 13.033
Nov. 7, 2047 13,156,854 12.180
Oct. 28, 2064 8,123,878 14.468
March 11, 2079 18,337,716 18.111
Feb. 29, 2096 934,716 14.148
Oct. 21, 2112 21,210,880 18.102
Nov. 14, 2126 17,743,372 11.454
Jan. 11, 2141 28,131,595 11.908
March 13, 2155 19,014,310 18.015
Nov. 13, 2171 15,645,612 11.693
Jan. 31, 2186 24,000,609 11.432

Images and Observations

1996 RG3's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 11, 1996. It was last officially observed on May 18, 2017. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 242 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 1996 RG3:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 2.001 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.6035
  • Inclination: 3.58°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 158.06°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 300.24°
  • Mean Anomaly: 158.04°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 0.88800 km
  • Magnitude: 18.47
  • Albedo: 0.098

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 1,030 days (2.82 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 21.13 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 3.21 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.79 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 269690 (1996 RG3) 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 above comparison is an artistic rendering that uses available data on the diameter of 1996 RG3 to create an approximate landscape rendering with Mount Everest in the background. This approximation is built for full-resolution desktop browsers. Shape, color, and texture of asteroid are imagined.