162120 (1998 SH36)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 162120 (1998 SH36)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 21,191,748 km of Earth in 2023
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

162120 (1998 SH36) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 1998 SH36 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

1998 SH36 orbits the sun every 414 days (1.13 years), coming as close as 0.47 AU and reaching as far as 1.71 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 1998 SH36 is probably between 0.191 to 0.427 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

1998 SH36's orbit is 0.01 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 SH36 has 19 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Oct. 7, 2023 21,191,748 21.912
June 4, 2035 9,622,741 15.926
Oct. 12, 2040 1,940,753 17.811
June 6, 2052 3,614,853 17.641
Oct. 12, 2057 1,725,460 17.608
June 6, 2069 3,777,544 17.746
Oct. 13, 2074 2,104,036 17.408
June 9, 2086 10,372,895 19.562
Oct. 17, 2091 18,233,420 14.129
Oct. 5, 2099 28,942,707 23.503
June 6, 2111 6,874,556 16.567
Oct. 15, 2116 7,069,010 16.291
June 6, 2136 4,550,061 17.221
Oct. 16, 2141 11,106,971 15.496
June 4, 2161 13,100,337 15.250
Oct. 12, 2166 5,574,009 18.721
June 7, 2178 4,749,543 17.147
Oct. 15, 2183 2,780,177 17.193
June 15, 2195 24,429,772 22.461

Images and Observations

1998 SH36's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 26, 1998. It was last officially observed on June 17, 2018. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 216 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 SH36:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.088 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5709
  • Inclination: 2.13°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 217.83°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 278.84°
  • Mean Anomaly: 292.05°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.246 km
  • Magnitude: 20.72

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 414 days (1.13 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 28.59 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.71 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.47 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 162120 (1998 SH36) 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 SH36 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.