469445 (2002 LT24)

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 469445 (2002 LT24)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court (0.14 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 27,376,601 km of Earth in 2021
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

469445 (2002 LT24) is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2002 LT24 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2002 LT24 orbits the sun every 223 days (0.61 years), coming as close as 0.36 AU and reaching as far as 1.08 AU from the sun. 2002 LT24 is about 0.1 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, comparable in size to a basketball court.

Close Approaches

2002 LT24's orbit is 0.01 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.

2002 LT24 has 47 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
July 13, 2021 27,376,601 16.358
June 28, 2024 8,302,906 9.032
May 26, 2027 13,879,831 13.226
July 12, 2032 27,143,011 16.301
June 28, 2035 8,516,320 9.007
May 26, 2038 14,900,754 13.460
July 13, 2043 26,136,064 16.064
June 27, 2046 8,676,667 8.988
May 26, 2049 15,429,465 13.580
July 13, 2054 25,471,195 15.910
June 24, 2057 9,215,891 8.952
May 26, 2060 21,046,317 14.870
July 14, 2065 18,401,823 14.286
June 17, 2068 9,218,054 8.918
May 27, 2071 22,755,724 15.250
July 14, 2076 19,756,268 14.591
June 20, 2079 9,323,162 8.920
May 27, 2082 21,324,968 14.929
July 15, 2087 18,233,830 14.264
June 14, 2090 8,987,955 8.956
May 27, 2093 26,173,967 16.038
July 14, 2098 15,664,069 13.673
June 15, 2101 8,914,430 8.956
May 28, 2104 25,410,027 15.868
July 15, 2109 16,153,183 13.795
June 15, 2112 8,953,678 8.958
May 29, 2115 25,658,688 15.931
July 15, 2120 15,622,069 13.683
June 15, 2123 8,882,292 8.969
May 29, 2126 25,532,752 15.903
July 16, 2131 17,004,146 13.999
June 18, 2134 9,217,160 8.949
May 28, 2137 21,897,524 15.065
July 15, 2142 22,608,330 15.274
June 26, 2145 9,011,257 8.963
May 27, 2148 15,791,148 13.670
July 15, 2153 24,877,129 15.793
June 27, 2156 8,732,351 8.979
May 28, 2159 13,999,211 13.235
July 5, 2167 6,797,778 9.196
May 28, 2170 9,548,340 12.215
June 30, 2178 8,422,511 9.022
May 27, 2181 16,824,405 13.884
July 15, 2186 21,926,998 15.115
June 21, 2189 9,453,056 8.922
May 28, 2192 22,426,352 15.158
July 16, 2197 16,150,577 13.797

Images and Observations

2002 LT24's orbit is determined by observations dating back to June 9, 2002. It was last officially observed on June 11, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 200 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 LT24:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.72 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4958
  • Inclination: 0.76°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 166.11°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 282.67°
  • Mean Anomaly: 91.79°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 0.14300 km
  • Magnitude: 22.19
  • Albedo: 0.136

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 223 days (0.61 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 35.13 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.08 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.36 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 469445 (2002 LT24) 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 LT24 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.