480822 (1998 YM4)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 480822 (1998 YM4)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building
  • Will pass within 16,899,271 km of Earth in 2045
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

480822 (1998 YM4) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 1998 YM4 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

1998 YM4 orbits the sun every 656 days (1.80 years), coming as close as 0.41 AU and reaching as far as 2.54 AU from the sun. Its orbit is highly elliptical. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 1998 YM4 is probably between 0.311 to 0.695 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

1998 YM4's orbit is 0.05 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.

1998 YM4 has 14 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
April 27, 2045 16,899,271 21.123
Dec. 19, 2050 29,103,076 29.866
April 22, 2054 7,518,941 24.700
Dec. 14, 2059 12,352,636 25.906
April 16, 2063 22,702,355 28.521
Dec. 8, 2068 13,660,085 22.019
April 27, 2115 12,737,186 22.060
Dec. 17, 2120 19,696,926 27.733
April 19, 2124 17,161,325 27.280
Dec. 10, 2129 13,354,827 22.086
April 30, 2167 20,124,235 20.442
Dec. 20, 2172 27,622,240 29.520
April 22, 2176 10,397,401 25.673
Dec. 12, 2181 8,961,965 23.712

Images and Observations

1998 YM4's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 19, 1998. It was last officially observed on April 21, 2018. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 226 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 1998 YM4:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.477 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.7195
  • Inclination: 3.43°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 341.76°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 344.56°
  • Mean Anomaly: 316.31°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.401 km
  • Magnitude: 19.66

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 656 days (1.80 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 24.49 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.54 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.41 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 480822 (1998 YM4) 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 1998 YM4 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.