363734 (2004 XN50)

Small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 363734 (2004 XN50)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge
  • Will pass within 17,214,249 km of Earth in 2028
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

363734 (2004 XN50) is a small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2004 XN50 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2004 XN50 orbits the sun every 796 days (2.18 years), coming as close as 0.37 AU and reaching as far as 2.99 AU from the sun. Its orbit is highly elliptical. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2004 XN50 is probably between 0.443 to 0.991 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

2004 XN50'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.

2004 XN50 has 9 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Dec. 7, 2028 17,214,249 30.217
Dec. 3, 2052 2,616,643 27.191
Dec. 10, 2076 25,691,485 31.999
April 7, 2083 14,809,855 29.527
April 17, 2107 18,227,471 23.325
Dec. 1, 2111 13,645,183 24.014
Dec. 7, 2135 5,565,593 27.816
April 9, 2166 12,198,962 28.971
April 12, 2190 5,022,410 26.872

Images and Observations

2004 XN50's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 14, 2004. It was last officially observed on Feb. 3, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 215 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 XN50:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.681 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.7783
  • Inclination: 3.31°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 62.41°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 253.42°
  • Mean Anomaly: 234.51°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.572 km
  • Magnitude: 18.89

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 796 days (2.18 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 22.97 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.99 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.37 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 363734 (2004 XN50) 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 above comparison is an artistic rendering that uses available data on the diameter of 2004 XN50 to create an approximate landscape rendering with Mount Everest in the background. This approximation is built for full-resolution desktop browsers. Shape, color, and texture of asteroid are imagined.