311066 (2004 DC)

Small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
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Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge
  • Will pass within 28,438,274 km of Earth in 2029
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

311066 (2004 DC) is a small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2004 DC as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2004 DC orbits the sun every 763 days (2.09 years), coming as close as 0.98 AU and reaching as far as 2.29 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2004 DC is probably between 0.590 to 1.318 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than ~97% of asteroids but small compared to large asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge.

The rotation of 2004 DC has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 2.57 hours.

Close Approaches

2004 DC's orbit is 0.01 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

2004 DC has 7 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
May 13, 2029 28,438,274 12.521
June 17, 2054 17,272,792 14.187
June 3, 2077 4,074,750 12.462
June 12, 2102 7,042,647 13.152
May 15, 2125 27,972,347 12.567
June 12, 2150 8,269,005 13.246
May 31, 2173 9,087,169 12.292

Images and Observations

2004 DC's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Feb. 16, 2004. It was last officially observed on Nov. 25, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 304 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 DC:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.634 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3995
  • Inclination: 19.45°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 74.92°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 156.26°
  • Mean Anomaly: 107.52°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.761 km
  • Magnitude: 18.27

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 763 days (2.09 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 23.30 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.29 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.98 AU
  • Rotation Period: 2.57 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 311066 (2004 DC) 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 2004 DC 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.