Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 1,173,423 km of Earth in 2023
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

1998 HH49 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 1998 HH49 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

1998 HH49 orbits the sun every 705 days (1.93 years), coming as close as 0.77 AU and reaching as far as 2.33 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 1998 HH49 is probably between 0.144 to 0.322 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

1998 HH49'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.

1998 HH49 has 11 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Oct. 17, 2023 1,173,423 14.787
May 9, 2029 24,355,030 18.424
Oct. 20, 2058 10,046,258 16.477
May 15, 2064 13,366,433 15.135
Oct. 14, 2095 5,421,358 13.544
May 30, 2099 23,759,771 10.646
Oct. 27, 2128 23,133,662 18.998
Sept. 23, 2130 26,800,687 10.690
May 18, 2134 13,331,189 14.792
Oct. 18, 2163 648,944 14.675
May 17, 2171 15,543,760 15.896

Images and Observations

1998 HH49's orbit is determined by observations dating back to April 28, 1998. It was last officially observed on Dec. 1, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 21 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 HH49:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.551 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5021
  • Inclination: 8.42°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 23.47°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 287.91°
  • Mean Anomaly: 7.19°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.186 km
  • Magnitude: 21.33

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 705 days (1.93 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 23.93 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.33 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.77 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 1998 HH49 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 HH49 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.