333521 (2005 PO)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 333521 (2005 PO)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 29,154,570 km of Earth in 2075
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

333521 (2005 PO) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2005 PO as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2005 PO orbits the sun every 512 days (1.40 years), coming as close as 0.78 AU and reaching as far as 1.72 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2005 PO is probably between 0.256 to 0.573 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 90% of asteroids but tiny compared to large asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2005 PO'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.

2005 PO has 7 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
June 26, 2075 29,154,570 8.337
June 26, 2082 27,285,614 8.612
June 26, 2089 25,698,061 8.846
June 25, 2096 24,951,673 8.981
June 27, 2103 25,234,107 8.917
June 27, 2110 26,389,429 8.742
June 27, 2117 28,972,085 8.361

Images and Observations

2005 PO's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Aug. 3, 2005. It was last officially observed on Oct. 19, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 155 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 2005 PO:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.252 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3733
  • Inclination: 12.51°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 300.49°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 249.53°
  • Mean Anomaly: 65.11°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.331 km
  • Magnitude: 20.08

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 512 days (1.40 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 26.60 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.72 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.78 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 333521 (2005 PO) 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 2005 PO 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.