480883 (2001 YE4)

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 480883 (2001 YE4)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 11,882,045 km of Earth in 2021
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

480883 (2001 YE4) is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2001 YE4 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2001 YE4 orbits the sun every 203 days (0.56 years), coming as close as 0.31 AU and reaching as far as 1.04 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2001 YE4 is probably between 0.174 to 0.389 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2001 YE4's orbit is 0.03 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.

2001 YE4 has 44 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Dec. 8, 2021 11,882,045 10.820
Dec. 1, 2026 10,693,168 11.582
Nov. 27, 2031 12,018,754 13.009
Jan. 5, 2036 29,173,329 18.831
Nov. 25, 2036 17,520,380 15.000
Jan. 6, 2041 19,585,077 16.503
Nov. 26, 2041 25,437,905 17.235
Jan. 7, 2046 11,269,928 14.461
Jan. 6, 2051 5,393,859 12.810
Jan. 3, 2056 5,100,407 11.740
Dec. 29, 2060 8,337,077 10.995
Dec. 22, 2065 11,134,130 10.664
Dec. 14, 2070 12,194,620 10.623
Dec. 7, 2075 11,574,818 10.924
Nov. 30, 2080 10,659,319 11.659
Nov. 27, 2085 12,083,503 13.021
Jan. 5, 2090 29,264,559 18.859
Nov. 26, 2090 17,451,299 14.966
Jan. 7, 2095 19,869,226 16.586
Nov. 27, 2095 25,266,886 17.171
Jan. 7, 2100 11,033,787 14.427
Jan. 6, 2105 4,802,413 12.635
Jan. 3, 2110 5,536,518 11.531
Dec. 28, 2114 9,516,011 10.830
Dec. 20, 2119 11,865,921 10.610
Dec. 10, 2124 11,896,469 10.795
Dec. 3, 2129 10,772,556 11.470
Nov. 29, 2134 11,806,941 12.839
Jan. 6, 2139 29,806,472 18.987
Nov. 28, 2139 17,190,935 14.856
Jan. 8, 2144 20,426,157 16.722
Nov. 27, 2144 24,787,270 17.021
Jan. 8, 2149 11,727,596 14.608
Jan. 7, 2154 5,396,501 12.922
Jan. 5, 2159 4,475,482 11.848
Jan. 1, 2164 7,595,252 11.075
Dec. 25, 2168 10,562,332 10.706
Dec. 17, 2173 12,000,106 10.618
Dec. 10, 2178 11,722,999 10.844
Dec. 4, 2183 10,812,668 11.415
Nov. 29, 2188 11,324,148 12.528
Nov. 28, 2193 15,008,831 14.125
Jan. 7, 2198 24,337,441 17.673
Nov. 28, 2198 21,389,178 16.063

Images and Observations

2001 YE4's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 21, 2001. It was last officially observed on Jan. 21, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 436 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 2001 YE4:

References

Search

   or view a random object

Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.6769 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5404
  • Inclination: 4.85°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 305.33°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 318.97°
  • Mean Anomaly: 217.29°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.225 km
  • Magnitude: 20.92

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 203 days (0.56 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 36.28 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.04 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.31 AU

Map Comparison

Click to load map

Orbit Simulation

⧉

Sky Map

The position of 480883 (2001 YE4) 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 2001 YE4 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.