85236 (1993 KH)

Small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 85236 (1993 KH)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge
  • Will pass within 15,165,438 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

85236 (1993 KH) is a small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 1993 KH as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

1993 KH orbits the sun every 501 days (1.37 years), coming as close as 0.85 AU and reaching as far as 1.62 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 1993 KH is probably between 0.473 to 1.057 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.

The rotation of 1993 KH has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 5.06 hours.

Close Approaches

1993 KH's orbit is 0.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is very close to Earth's orbit.

1993 KH has 15 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Nov. 8, 2019 15,165,438 8.926
June 14, 2041 20,029,774 10.130
Nov. 24, 2045 18,538,791 14.066
Nov. 9, 2056 13,117,900 9.163
June 15, 2078 19,942,655 10.639
Nov. 22, 2082 13,554,605 13.210
Nov. 4, 2093 18,879,944 8.566
June 16, 2115 20,383,990 11.118
Nov. 23, 2119 11,259,353 12.800
Nov. 5, 2130 18,952,537 8.566
June 16, 2152 20,432,606 10.116
Nov. 25, 2156 18,925,855 14.124
Nov. 12, 2167 11,132,735 9.413
June 16, 2189 20,385,520 10.373
Nov. 24, 2193 15,397,424 13.513

Images and Observations

1993 KH's orbit is determined by observations dating back to May 24, 1993. It was last officially observed on May 14, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 1,058 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 1993 KH:

References

Search

   or view a random object

Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.234 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3111
  • Inclination: 12.81°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 54.36°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 293.84°
  • Mean Anomaly: 324.92°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.610 km
  • Magnitude: 18.75

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 501 days (1.37 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 26.80 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.62 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.85 AU
  • Rotation Period: 5.06 hours

Map Comparison

Click to load map

Orbit Simulation

⧉

Sky Map

The position of 85236 (1993 KH) 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 1993 KH 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.