488789 (2004 XK50)

Mid-sized Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 488789 (2004 XK50)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge (1.04 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 7,958,315 km of Earth in 2025
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

488789 (2004 XK50) is a mid-sized asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2004 XK50 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2004 XK50 orbits the sun every 639 days (1.75 years), coming as close as 0.45 AU and reaching as far as 2.45 AU from the sun. 2004 XK50 is about 1.0 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge.

Close Approaches

2004 XK50's orbit is 0.04 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.

2004 XK50 has 11 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Dec. 24, 2025 7,958,315 28.541
Dec. 23, 2032 6,278,826 29.472
Dec. 21, 2039 9,738,657 30.564
Dec. 19, 2046 16,506,999 31.901
Dec. 16, 2053 25,406,611 33.516
Dec. 31, 2163 23,808,445 25.703
Dec. 28, 2170 15,391,689 26.993
Dec. 26, 2177 10,038,660 27.850
Dec. 25, 2184 6,623,538 28.510
Dec. 25, 2191 5,111,911 28.848
Dec. 25, 2198 4,798,931 28.969

Images and Observations

2004 XK50's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 14, 2004. It was last officially observed on Dec. 24, 2018. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 164 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 2004 XK50:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.451 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.6887
  • Inclination: 38.22°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 94.07°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 104.01°
  • Mean Anomaly: 223.38°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 1.03900 km
  • Magnitude: 19.13
  • Albedo: 0.038

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 639 days (1.75 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 24.70 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.45 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.45 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 488789 (2004 XK50) 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 above comparison is an artistic rendering that uses available data on the diameter of 2004 XK50 to create an approximate landscape rendering with Mount Everest in the background. This approximation is built for full-resolution desktop browsers. Shape, color, and texture of asteroid are imagined.