350751 (2002 AW)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 350751 (2002 AW)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 8,551,053 km of Earth in 2022
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

350751 (2002 AW) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2002 AW as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2002 AW orbits the sun every 405 days (1.11 years), coming as close as 0.80 AU and reaching as far as 1.35 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2002 AW is probably between 0.119 to 0.531 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 90% of asteroids but tiny compared to large asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

The rotation of 2002 AW has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 4.65 hours.

Close Approaches

2002 AW'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.

2002 AW has 23 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
April 5, 2022 8,551,053 6.436
Sept. 24, 2023 15,773,891 5.110
March 29, 2032 6,323,015 9.415
Aug. 16, 2033 27,194,974 6.564
Oct. 10, 2054 18,146,052 11.788
May 9, 2063 24,071,597 5.816
Oct. 5, 2064 1,931,785 8.530
March 30, 2082 13,221,529 10.798
Aug. 19, 2083 26,316,647 6.402
April 20, 2092 18,363,851 4.946
Oct. 5, 2093 1,600,755 8.478
April 3, 2101 6,888,400 9.527
Sept. 20, 2102 17,603,339 5.006
May 28, 2120 27,675,498 6.769
Oct. 13, 2121 22,562,056 12.673
April 6, 2129 2,350,302 7.757
Oct. 4, 2130 3,663,257 7.470
March 31, 2138 15,475,132 11.262
Aug. 30, 2139 23,418,761 5.776
May 1, 2166 20,532,605 5.200
Oct. 10, 2167 12,074,111 10.578
April 9, 2175 6,778,797 6.853
Oct. 5, 2176 769,200 8.246

Images and Observations

2002 AW's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 17, 2001. It was last officially observed on Dec. 25, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 547 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2002 AW can be reached with a journey of 450 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 8.235 km/s. To put this into perspective, the delta-v to launch a rocket to Low-Earth Orbit is 9.7 km/s. There are 102,852 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2002 AW.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2002 AW:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.072 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.2567
  • Inclination: 0.57°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 161.8°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 119.38°
  • Mean Anomaly: 46.84°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.325 km
  • Magnitude: 20.83

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 405 days (1.11 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 28.80 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.35 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.80 AU
  • Rotation Period: 4.65 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 350751 (2002 AW) 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 AW 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.