387668 (2002 SZ)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 387668 (2002 SZ)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 25,195,031 km of Earth in 2033
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

387668 (2002 SZ) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2002 SZ as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2002 SZ orbits the sun every 540 days (1.48 years), coming as close as 0.74 AU and reaching as far as 1.86 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2002 SZ is probably between 0.210 to 0.470 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2002 SZ's orbit is 0.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

2002 SZ has 15 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Sept. 17, 2033 25,195,031 21.554
Sept. 4, 2036 16,069,464 15.415
March 17, 2045 17,629,491 15.580
Sept. 10, 2067 1,449,717 17.824
March 20, 2079 29,553,031 13.968
March 14, 2082 12,716,005 18.304
Sept. 18, 2107 19,944,897 20.701
Sept. 7, 2110 12,203,232 15.906
March 18, 2122 15,395,735 16.061
March 11, 2125 25,778,427 21.137
Sept. 10, 2150 1,647,368 17.422
March 15, 2162 13,623,367 18.586
Sept. 8, 2184 8,759,952 16.392
March 20, 2193 22,908,984 14.816
March 10, 2196 25,692,648 21.120

Images and Observations

2002 SZ's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 26, 2002. It was last officially observed on March 16, 2014. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 158 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 2002 SZ:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.297 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4333
  • Inclination: 22.89°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 346.85°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 276.56°
  • Mean Anomaly: 116.04°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.271 km
  • Magnitude: 20.51

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 540 days (1.48 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 26.13 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.86 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.74 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 387668 (2002 SZ) 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 2002 SZ 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.