Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 6,689,464 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2022 DG2 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2022 DG2 as a "Near Earth Asteroid" due to its orbit's proximity to Earth, but it is not considered potentially hazardous because computer simulations have not indicated any imminent likelihood of future collision.

2022 DG2 orbits the sun every 547 days (1.50 years), coming as close as 0.79 AU and reaching as far as 1.83 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2022 DG2 is probably between 0.005 to 0.012 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2022 DG2'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.

2022 DG2 has 12 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Feb. 25, 2019 6,689,464 12.441
Feb. 22, 2022 910,573 11.202
Feb. 19, 2025 4,410,231 10.367
Feb. 13, 2028 13,666,193 8.711
Jan. 27, 2031 23,228,876 7.953
Jan. 7, 2034 29,415,273 8.774
Oct. 24, 2045 26,486,515 7.472
Oct. 3, 2048 17,910,960 8.117
Sept. 27, 2051 10,250,152 10.014
Sept. 23, 2054 9,183,302 11.767
Sept. 18, 2057 16,756,573 13.860
Sept. 14, 2060 28,223,530 16.270

Images and Observations

2022 DG2's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Feb. 24, 2022. It was last officially observed on Feb. 27, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 18 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 2022 DG2:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.309 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3965
  • Inclination: 7.15°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 156.02°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 283.88°
  • Mean Anomaly: 47.86°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.007 km
  • Magnitude: 28.46

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 547 days (1.50 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 26.03 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.83 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.79 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2022 DG2 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.