360191 (1988 TA)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 360191 (1988 TA)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building (0.40 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 14,500,947 km of Earth in 2032
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

360191 (1988 TA) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 1988 TA as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

1988 TA orbits the sun every 698 days (1.91 years), coming as close as 0.80 AU and reaching as far as 2.28 AU from the sun. 1988 TA is about 0.4 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 90% of asteroids but tiny compared to large asteroids, comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building.

Close Approaches

1988 TA'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.

1988 TA has 15 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Sept. 18, 2032 14,500,947 10.268
May 27, 2034 17,386,534 9.891
Sept. 30, 2053 853,046 12.990
June 29, 2055 29,778,399 10.493
Oct. 9, 2076 19,400,227 16.758
May 5, 2080 15,071,427 15.755
Aug. 20, 2101 28,284,846 10.312
May 16, 2103 5,387,625 12.288
Sept. 30, 2124 2,269,305 12.483
June 19, 2126 26,943,845 9.969
May 9, 2149 11,034,810 14.884
Sept. 9, 2168 21,558,641 9.691
May 20, 2170 10,139,065 11.139
Oct. 3, 2189 1,793,923 13.254
May 3, 2193 27,009,546 18.148

Images and Observations

1988 TA's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 5, 1988. It was last officially observed on May 11, 2013. 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 1988 TA:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.54 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4786
  • Inclination: 2.53°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 194.65°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 105.28°
  • Mean Anomaly: 123.09°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 0.40000 km
  • Magnitude: 21.08

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 698 days (1.91 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 24.00 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.28 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.80 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 360191 (1988 TA) 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 1988 TA 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.