2002 AY1

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 2002 AY1

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 5,803,131 km of Earth in 2024
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2002 AY1 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2002 AY1 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2002 AY1 orbits the sun every 251 days (0.69 years), coming as close as 0.44 AU and reaching as far as 1.12 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2002 AY1 is probably between 0.172 to 0.386 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2002 AY1'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.

2002 AY1 has 20 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Jan. 8, 2024 5,803,131 17.339
Jan. 8, 2035 9,747,059 16.913
Jan. 8, 2046 15,656,440 16.379
Jan. 4, 2055 29,846,941 22.660
Jan. 6, 2057 22,353,721 15.932
Jan. 5, 2066 22,264,993 21.330
Jan. 6, 2068 28,953,028 15.654
Jan. 6, 2077 15,112,928 20.154
Jan. 7, 2088 9,332,715 19.267
Jan. 8, 2099 6,266,664 18.821
Jan. 8, 2110 7,257,104 18.964
Jan. 7, 2121 11,870,692 19.651
Jan. 7, 2132 18,544,868 20.709
Jan. 6, 2134 29,795,878 15.625
Jan. 6, 2143 25,801,040 21.932
Jan. 8, 2145 23,379,221 15.871
Jan. 9, 2156 16,935,968 16.274
Jan. 10, 2167 10,813,781 16.793
Jan. 9, 2178 6,749,099 17.211
Jan. 9, 2189 5,891,195 17.306

Images and Observations

2002 AY1's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Jan. 7, 2002. It was last officially observed on Dec. 12, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 125 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 2002 AY1:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.779 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4374
  • Inclination: 29.89°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 287.85°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 323.84°
  • Mean Anomaly: 82.58°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.223 km
  • Magnitude: 20.94

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 251 days (0.69 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 33.76 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.12 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.44 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2002 AY1 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 2002 AY1 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.