366746 (2004 LJ)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 366746 (2004 LJ)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 14,136,079 km of Earth in 2021
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

366746 (2004 LJ) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2004 LJ as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2004 LJ orbits the sun every 414 days (1.13 years), coming as close as 0.59 AU and reaching as far as 1.59 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2004 LJ is probably between 0.247 to 0.552 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

2004 LJ's orbit is 0.03 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 LJ has 18 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
May 28, 2021 14,136,079 14.458
May 26, 2038 22,368,321 13.201
Nov. 18, 2044 27,602,381 14.303
Nov. 14, 2061 22,754,195 15.315
June 8, 2064 24,331,338 20.804
Nov. 12, 2078 21,411,892 15.752
June 8, 2081 22,430,452 20.472
Nov. 14, 2095 22,683,133 15.300
June 9, 2098 26,743,767 21.269
Nov. 19, 2112 27,305,160 14.302
May 28, 2123 21,292,975 13.388
May 27, 2140 19,828,003 13.610
May 26, 2157 26,006,673 12.704
Nov. 19, 2163 25,615,149 14.580
June 11, 2166 29,615,895 21.782
Nov. 12, 2180 20,825,506 15.887
June 9, 2183 20,295,593 20.051
Nov. 10, 2197 19,723,552 16.860

Images and Observations

2004 LJ's orbit is determined by observations dating back to June 9, 2004. It was last officially observed on Aug. 2, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 315 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 LJ:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.087 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4614
  • Inclination: 18.28°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 246.69°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 256.11°
  • Mean Anomaly: 64.07°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.319 km
  • Magnitude: 20.16

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 414 days (1.13 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 28.56 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.59 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.59 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 366746 (2004 LJ) 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 LJ 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.