331876 (2004 CL)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 331876 (2004 CL)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 16,752,802 km of Earth in 2020
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

331876 (2004 CL) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2004 CL as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2004 CL orbits the sun every 532 days (1.46 years), coming as close as 0.60 AU and reaching as far as 1.97 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2004 CL is probably between 0.205 to 0.459 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2004 CL's orbit is 0.02 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.

2004 CL has 18 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Jan. 25, 2020 16,752,802 20.759
July 4, 2028 5,913,872 18.636
Jan. 27, 2036 21,964,914 21.821
July 3, 2044 8,773,018 19.230
Jan. 24, 2052 12,827,673 19.878
June 28, 2060 23,066,600 21.990
Jan. 19, 2068 8,341,551 16.973
Jan. 9, 2084 26,635,780 13.277
July 16, 2089 25,631,894 13.257
July 11, 2105 11,048,553 15.843
July 7, 2121 3,066,374 17.969
Jan. 25, 2129 15,105,821 20.347
June 29, 2137 26,254,864 22.600
Jan. 17, 2145 13,707,711 15.706
July 11, 2166 8,223,778 16.340
Jan. 30, 2174 25,513,735 22.476
July 3, 2182 14,275,109 20.338
Jan. 22, 2190 7,888,803 18.223

Images and Observations

2004 CL's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Feb. 7, 2004. It was last officially observed on March 26, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 158 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 CL:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.285 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5363
  • Inclination: 13.31°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 109.4°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 274.66°
  • Mean Anomaly: 212.57°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.265 km
  • Magnitude: 20.56

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 532 days (1.46 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 26.28 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.97 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.60 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 331876 (2004 CL) 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 2004 CL 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.