530520 (2011 LT17)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 530520 (2011 LT17)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 6,155,368 km of Earth in 2026
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

530520 (2011 LT17) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2011 LT17 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2011 LT17 orbits the sun every 421 days (1.15 years), coming as close as 0.78 AU and reaching as far as 1.42 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2011 LT17 is probably between 0.113 to 0.254 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

The rotation of 2011 LT17 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 1.29 hours.

Close Approaches

2011 LT17's orbit is 0.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

2011 LT17 has 19 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
June 12, 2026 6,155,368 14.570
Dec. 16, 2027 9,353,629 15.182
June 8, 2041 19,343,594 16.439
Dec. 13, 2042 4,536,263 13.493
June 16, 2064 7,496,629 12.882
Dec. 19, 2065 23,462,332 17.330
June 11, 2079 10,581,411 15.166
Dec. 14, 2080 4,651,497 14.515
June 8, 2094 21,912,049 16.842
Dec. 13, 2095 6,497,674 13.228
June 19, 2117 13,531,193 12.248
Dec. 23, 2118 29,906,316 18.394
June 14, 2132 2,501,471 14.085
Dec. 18, 2133 10,310,350 15.347
June 16, 2155 671,209 13.882
Dec. 16, 2156 375,029 14.099
June 12, 2163 14,942,298 15.739
Dec. 13, 2164 10,510,028 12.816
Dec. 9, 2172 27,501,807 11.443

Images and Observations

2011 LT17's orbit is determined by observations dating back to June 9, 2011. It was last officially observed on Dec. 7, 2019. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 117 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 2011 LT17:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.1 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.2874
  • Inclination: 20.9°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 83.45°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 270.62°
  • Mean Anomaly: 164.34°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.146 km
  • Magnitude: 21.85

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 421 days (1.15 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 28.43 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.42 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.78 AU
  • Rotation Period: 1.29 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 530520 (2011 LT17) 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 2011 LT17 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.