Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 22,556,397 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2022 FR3 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2022 FR3 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 FR3 orbits the sun every 1,090 days (2.98 years), coming as close as 1.00 AU and reaching as far as 3.15 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2022 FR3 is probably between 0.076 to 0.171 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2022 FR3'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 FR3 has 6 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
May 1, 2019 22,556,397 11.579
April 14, 2022 6,987,034 8.339
April 1, 2025 2,555,120 7.439
April 9, 2028 5,210,677 7.879
April 25, 2031 15,775,227 10.000
May 5, 2034 29,329,489 12.947

Images and Observations

2022 FR3's orbit is determined by observations dating back to March 27, 2022. It was last officially observed on June 7, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 103 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 FR3:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 2.076 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5159
  • Inclination: 5.3°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 6.43°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 175.67°
  • Mean Anomaly: 175.96°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.099 km
  • Magnitude: 22.71

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 1,090 days (2.98 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 20.72 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 3.15 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 1.00 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2022 FR3 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 2022 FR3 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.