Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 4,158,778 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

523934 (1998 FF14) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 1998 FF14 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

1998 FF14 orbits the sun every 513 days (1.40 years), coming as close as 0.86 AU and reaching as far as 1.64 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 1998 FF14 is probably between 0.200 to 0.447 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

1998 FF14'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.

1998 FF14 has 10 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Sept. 24, 2019 4,158,778 22.262
Sept. 28, 2026 15,393,732 23.479
Sept. 15, 2085 26,978,120 20.858
Sept. 20, 2092 11,969,782 21.506
Sept. 25, 2099 4,684,984 22.409
Oct. 1, 2106 19,632,107 23.902
Sept. 16, 2158 27,957,577 20.833
Sept. 21, 2165 11,382,096 21.536
Sept. 26, 2172 5,884,924 22.558
Oct. 2, 2179 23,224,136 24.266

Images and Observations

1998 FF14's orbit is determined by observations dating back to March 20, 1998. It was last officially observed on Oct. 17, 2019. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 127 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 FF14:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.253 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3123
  • Inclination: 38.69°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 359.84°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 301.12°
  • Mean Anomaly: 330.75°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.258 km
  • Magnitude: 20.62

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 513 days (1.40 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 26.57 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.64 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.86 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 523934 (1998 FF14) 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 FF14 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.