434196 (2003 HG2)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 434196 (2003 HG2)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 6,677,250 km of Earth in 2025
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

434196 (2003 HG2) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2003 HG2 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2003 HG2 orbits the sun every 400 days (1.10 years), coming as close as 0.92 AU and reaching as far as 1.20 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2003 HG2 is probably between 0.127 to 0.283 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

Close Approaches

2003 HG2'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.

2003 HG2 has 21 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Oct. 27, 2025 6,677,250 10.932
April 22, 2026 22,877,520 10.190
Oct. 27, 2048 6,582,408 10.942
April 22, 2049 22,917,938 10.187
Nov. 1, 2071 12,331,489 10.806
April 18, 2072 21,316,142 10.308
Oct. 14, 2082 25,382,586 12.977
Nov. 10, 2094 26,478,995 11.183
April 14, 2095 23,080,488 10.770
Oct. 23, 2105 10,616,340 11.523
April 28, 2106 27,444,480 10.152
April 12, 2118 28,123,672 11.398
Oct. 26, 2128 6,363,920 11.140
April 25, 2129 24,577,810 10.163
April 11, 2141 29,323,421 11.562
Oct. 25, 2151 7,499,256 11.258
April 26, 2152 25,462,205 10.152
April 14, 2164 24,499,869 10.984
Oct. 18, 2174 19,781,058 12.368
Nov. 5, 2186 16,226,071 10.826
April 19, 2187 20,836,547 10.396

Images and Observations

2003 HG2's orbit is determined by observations dating back to April 24, 2003. It was last officially observed on May 18, 2015. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 182 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 2003 HG2:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.062 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1346
  • Inclination: 19.78°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 214.24°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 225.37°
  • Mean Anomaly: 345.45°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.163 km
  • Magnitude: 21.61

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 400 days (1.10 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 28.88 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.20 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.92 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 434196 (2003 HG2) 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 2003 HG2 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.