459462 (2013 AY52)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 459462 (2013 AY52)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building
  • Will pass within 17,472,517 km of Earth in 2021
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

459462 (2013 AY52) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2013 AY52 as a "Near Earth Asteroid" due to its orbit's proximity to Earth, but it is not considered potentially hazardous because computer simulations have not indicated any imminent likelihood of future collision.

2013 AY52 orbits the sun every 550 days (1.51 years), coming as close as 0.69 AU and reaching as far as 1.94 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2013 AY52 is probably between 0.272 to 0.608 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 90% of asteroids but tiny compared to large asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building.

Close Approaches

2013 AY52's orbit is 0.08 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.

2013 AY52 has 16 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Dec. 30, 2021 17,472,517 15.395
Jan. 2, 2025 15,830,565 17.422
Jan. 5, 2028 22,254,069 19.583
July 1, 2083 19,208,087 19.371
July 6, 2086 12,110,200 17.404
July 11, 2089 14,255,365 15.649
July 18, 2092 22,805,960 14.191
Dec. 30, 2122 24,199,317 13.771
Jan. 1, 2126 15,941,173 15.778
Jan. 4, 2129 16,303,128 17.988
Jan. 8, 2132 25,350,241 20.398
June 27, 2181 28,995,687 21.366
July 2, 2184 17,427,748 19.083
July 8, 2187 11,156,464 17.033
July 14, 2190 15,586,725 15.268
July 21, 2193 24,889,135 13.879

Images and Observations

2013 AY52's orbit is determined by observations dating back to April 21, 2006. It was last officially observed on Feb. 26, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 548 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 2013 AY52:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.314 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4745
  • Inclination: 18.35°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 116.33°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 251.84°
  • Mean Anomaly: 86.41°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.351 km
  • Magnitude: 19.95

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 550 days (1.51 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 25.99 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.94 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.69 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 459462 (2013 AY52) 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 2013 AY52 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.