494690 (2004 JQ1)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 494690 (2004 JQ1)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 10,901,954 km of Earth in 2021
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

494690 (2004 JQ1) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2004 JQ1 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2004 JQ1 orbits the sun every 476 days (1.30 years), coming as close as 0.66 AU and reaching as far as 1.73 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2004 JQ1 is probably between 0.254 to 0.568 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 90% of asteroids but tiny compared to large asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2004 JQ1'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.

2004 JQ1 has 20 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
June 2, 2021 10,901,954 22.971
Dec. 9, 2026 9,040,668 21.265
June 13, 2034 23,127,500 19.045
Dec. 19, 2039 26,312,555 25.789
May 30, 2051 24,527,690 25.055
Dec. 4, 2056 23,344,076 19.499
June 7, 2064 8,572,355 20.766
Dec. 15, 2069 12,690,661 23.622
June 7, 2094 5,796,486 21.221
Dec. 15, 2099 11,950,829 23.501
May 29, 2111 29,107,825 25.775
Dec. 5, 2116 22,895,444 19.555
June 11, 2124 15,225,568 19.889
Dec. 19, 2129 23,998,300 25.413
June 2, 2141 15,398,178 23.669
Dec. 10, 2146 9,746,192 21.185
June 15, 2154 27,913,693 18.543
June 5, 2171 8,831,348 22.660
Dec. 11, 2176 7,161,524 21.720
June 15, 2184 28,425,513 18.488

Images and Observations

2004 JQ1's orbit is determined by observations dating back to May 11, 2004. It was last officially observed on June 1, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 191 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 JQ1:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.194 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.45
  • Inclination: 32.83°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 77.05°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 272.67°
  • Mean Anomaly: 225.86°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.328 km
  • Magnitude: 20.1

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 476 days (1.30 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 27.29 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.73 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.66 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 494690 (2004 JQ1) 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 2004 JQ1 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.