68372 (2001 PM9)

Small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
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Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge
  • Will pass within 18,421,807 km of Earth in 2038
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

68372 (2001 PM9) is a small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2001 PM9 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2001 PM9 orbits the sun every 752 days (2.06 years), coming as close as 0.94 AU and reaching as far as 2.29 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2001 PM9 is probably between 0.427 to 0.955 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than ~97% of asteroids but small compared to large asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge.

Close Approaches

2001 PM9's orbit is 0.01 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

2001 PM9 has 9 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
April 7, 2038 18,421,807 8.040
June 18, 2040 17,555,009 12.315
April 14, 2073 17,669,519 7.957
June 21, 2075 21,126,211 12.957
May 2, 2108 14,966,148 7.901
June 26, 2110 29,225,302 14.459
May 6, 2143 14,203,472 7.925
April 19, 2178 17,103,360 7.983
June 23, 2180 22,223,387 13.107

Images and Observations

2001 PM9's orbit is determined by observations dating back to June 28, 2001. It was last officially observed on Oct. 25, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 364 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 PM9:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.618 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4162
  • Inclination: 8.11°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 252.96°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 322.33°
  • Mean Anomaly: 326.4°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.551 km
  • Magnitude: 18.97

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 752 days (2.06 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 23.41 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.29 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.94 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 68372 (2001 PM9) 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 2001 PM9 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.