279744 (1998 KM3)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 279744 (1998 KM3)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building
  • Will pass within 17,391,422 km of Earth in 2024
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

279744 (1998 KM3) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 1998 KM3 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

1998 KM3 orbits the sun every 789 days (2.16 years), coming as close as 0.65 AU and reaching as far as 2.69 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 1998 KM3 is probably between 0.277 to 0.619 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 90% of asteroids but tiny compared to large asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building.

Close Approaches

1998 KM3'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.

1998 KM3 has 11 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
June 5, 2024 17,391,422 21.502
Dec. 8, 2054 7,215,802 19.530
Dec. 2, 2067 9,017,883 16.363
June 19, 2078 13,849,609 15.433
Nov. 17, 2080 28,932,207 12.712
June 11, 2091 5,377,400 19.182
Dec. 4, 2121 6,307,482 16.905
June 6, 2132 19,105,717 21.846
Dec. 7, 2149 1,354,916 18.184
June 12, 2160 5,798,148 19.232
Nov. 29, 2190 17,237,905 14.726

Images and Observations

1998 KM3's orbit is determined by observations dating back to May 24, 1998. It was last officially observed on Jan. 10, 2014. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 108 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 1998 KM3:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.671 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.611
  • Inclination: 4.66°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 263.03°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 85.34°
  • Mean Anomaly: 215.29°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.358 km
  • Magnitude: 19.91

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 789 days (2.16 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 23.04 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.69 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.65 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 279744 (1998 KM3) 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 1998 KM3 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.