467351 (2003 KO2)

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 467351 (2003 KO2)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 16,718,677 km of Earth in 2021
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

467351 (2003 KO2) is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2003 KO2 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2003 KO2 orbits the sun every 227 days (0.62 years), coming as close as 0.36 AU and reaching as far as 1.10 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2003 KO2 is probably between 0.225 to 0.504 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

The rotation of 2003 KO2 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 6.48 hours.

Close Approaches

2003 KO2's orbit is 0.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is very close to Earth's orbit.

2003 KO2 has 23 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
April 30, 2021 16,718,677 13.707
April 25, 2034 8,521,401 16.559
April 29, 2039 13,412,916 13.917
April 25, 2052 17,692,591 18.122
April 26, 2057 6,040,134 14.557
May 8, 2062 26,358,371 13.538
April 26, 2070 19,514,648 18.455
April 27, 2075 6,864,561 14.472
May 9, 2080 28,550,586 13.555
April 25, 2088 11,966,736 17.142
April 29, 2093 13,783,113 13.894
April 26, 2106 8,176,964 16.513
May 1, 2111 14,970,010 13.809
April 26, 2124 11,576,243 17.075
April 30, 2129 12,488,348 13.976
April 27, 2142 11,517,536 17.083
May 1, 2147 13,367,248 13.923
April 26, 2160 8,090,117 16.506
May 1, 2165 15,169,000 13.792
April 27, 2178 12,295,546 17.225
April 29, 2183 10,079,655 14.183
May 10, 2188 28,036,459 13.511
April 27, 2196 19,387,174 18.484

Images and Observations

2003 KO2's orbit is determined by observations dating back to May 22, 2003. It was last officially observed on June 19, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 465 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 KO2:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.7277 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5108
  • Inclination: 23.49°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 215.47°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 204.03°
  • Mean Anomaly: 76.06°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.291 km
  • Magnitude: 20.36

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 227 days (0.62 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 34.88 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.10 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.36 AU
  • Rotation Period: 6.48 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 467351 (2003 KO2) 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 KO2 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.