294739 (2008 CM)

Small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 294739 (2008 CM)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge (0.74 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 26,413,742 km of Earth in 2063
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

294739 (2008 CM) is a small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2008 CM as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2008 CM orbits the sun every 716 days (1.96 years), coming as close as 0.93 AU and reaching as far as 2.21 AU from the sun. 2008 CM is about 0.7 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than ~97% of asteroids but small compared to large asteroids, comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge.

The rotation of 2008 CM has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 3.06 hours.

Close Approaches

2008 CM'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.

2008 CM has 5 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Jan. 6, 2063 26,413,742 23.708
Dec. 26, 2064 14,125,853 20.525
Jan. 3, 2112 11,729,491 22.124
Dec. 23, 2113 28,996,230 19.867
Jan. 1, 2161 9,685,812 21.884

Images and Observations

2008 CM's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Feb. 2, 2008. It was last officially observed on July 1, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 1,782 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 2008 CM:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.566 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4082
  • Inclination: 36.01°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 279.55°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 130.67°
  • Mean Anomaly: 355.68°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 0.74000 km
  • Magnitude: 17.05
  • Albedo: 0.425

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 716 days (1.96 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 23.79 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.21 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.93 AU
  • Rotation Period: 3.06 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 294739 (2008 CM) 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 2008 CM 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.