162998 (2001 SK162)

Small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 162998 (2001 SK162)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge (0.88 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 27,928,916 km of Earth in 2108
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

162998 (2001 SK162) is a small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2001 SK162 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2001 SK162 orbits the sun every 976 days (2.67 years), coming as close as 1.01 AU and reaching as far as 2.84 AU from the sun. 2001 SK162 is about 0.9 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than ~97% of asteroids but small compared to large asteroids, comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge.

The rotation of 2001 SK162 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 68.00 hours.

2001 SK162's spectral type None (Tholen) / T (SMASSII) indicates that it is likely to contain .

Close Approaches

2001 SK162'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.

2001 SK162 has 4 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Dec. 8, 2108 27,928,916 11.328
Dec. 16, 2116 18,181,994 9.073
Dec. 16, 2124 18,051,392 9.044
Dec. 10, 2132 25,657,471 10.837

Images and Observations

2001 SK162's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 9, 1993. It was last officially observed on July 25, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 1,194 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 SK162:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.926 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4741
  • Inclination: 1.68°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 285.3°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 186.43°
  • Mean Anomaly: 34.04°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 0.87500 km
  • Magnitude: 18.17
  • Albedo: 0.161
  • Spectral type (SMASS): T

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 976 days (2.67 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 21.47 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.84 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 1.01 AU
  • Rotation Period: 68.00 hours
  • Approx. Composition: .

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 162998 (2001 SK162) 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 SK162 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.