358471 (2007 NS4)

Small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 358471 (2007 NS4)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge
  • Will pass within 18,694,637 km of Earth in 2025
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

358471 (2007 NS4) is a small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2007 NS4 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2007 NS4 orbits the sun every 938 days (2.57 years), coming as close as 0.76 AU and reaching as far as 2.99 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2007 NS4 is probably between 0.388 to 0.867 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.

Close Approaches

2007 NS4'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.

2007 NS4 has 12 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Sept. 26, 2025 18,694,637 12.296
Feb. 6, 2031 24,493,199 19.422
Sept. 13, 2043 6,063,860 14.923
Jan. 31, 2049 15,155,904 16.704
Sept. 11, 2061 5,812,939 15.698
Jan. 30, 2067 13,577,253 15.926
Sept. 7, 2079 12,448,914 17.510
Jan. 22, 2085 15,604,551 13.487
Sept. 24, 2138 14,676,244 12.845
Feb. 6, 2144 20,360,275 18.464
Sept. 12, 2156 5,663,672 15.937
Jan. 28, 2162 13,066,511 14.564

Images and Observations

2007 NS4's orbit is determined by observations dating back to July 15, 2007. It was last officially observed on March 6, 2013. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 83 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 2007 NS4:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.875 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5972
  • Inclination: 5.78°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 10.97°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 47.55°
  • Mean Anomaly: 59.73°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.501 km
  • Magnitude: 19.18

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 938 days (2.57 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 21.75 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.99 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.76 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 358471 (2007 NS4) 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 2007 NS4 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.