317255 (2002 DJ5)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 317255 (2002 DJ5)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building
  • Will pass within 8,181,286 km of Earth in 2022
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

317255 (2002 DJ5) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2002 DJ5 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2002 DJ5 orbits the sun every 605 days (1.66 years), coming as close as 0.61 AU and reaching as far as 2.20 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2002 DJ5 is probably between 0.282 to 0.631 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.

The rotation of 2002 DJ5 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 2.61 hours.

Close Approaches

2002 DJ5'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.

2002 DJ5 has 14 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
March 31, 2022 8,181,286 16.965
March 23, 2027 20,157,302 21.876
Oct. 17, 2035 18,925,340 21.379
Oct. 8, 2040 11,076,337 16.684
April 6, 2080 22,134,624 13.897
March 28, 2085 7,789,394 18.991
Oct. 21, 2093 28,798,024 23.495
Oct. 11, 2098 8,840,607 17.910
April 11, 2133 28,771,078 12.546
March 31, 2138 6,451,294 18.188
Oct. 15, 2151 10,233,598 19.027
Oct. 3, 2156 22,972,065 13.966
April 13, 2191 29,891,021 12.357
April 1, 2196 8,193,598 17.110

Images and Observations

2002 DJ5's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Feb. 21, 2002. It was last officially observed on March 28, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 447 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 2002 DJ5:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.401 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5676
  • Inclination: 6.43°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 347.9°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 296.15°
  • Mean Anomaly: 283.48°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.364 km
  • Magnitude: 19.87

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 605 days (1.66 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 25.19 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.20 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.61 AU
  • Rotation Period: 2.61 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 317255 (2002 DJ5) 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 2002 DJ5 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.