Today 17 asteroids reach the closest point in their orbit, 2 of them are potentially dangerous! An overview of the largest asteroids near Earth on 01/01/2023.
NASA is currently aware of over 1.1 million asteroids in the solar system. Thousands more of these usually irregularly shaped rock bodies are discovered every month. Special attention is paid to the so-called near-Earth asteroids, which do not move around the sun like most asteroids in the asteroid belt, but come close to Earth’s orbit and can therefore also be dangerous for the blue planet. In this article we give you an overview of all the near-Earth asteroids that are passing the closest point in their orbit today.
On Sunday, January 1st, 2023, a total of 17 asteroids will reach their closest station during the day, including 2 potentially dangerous asteroids.
The largest near-Earth asteroids today
“154347 (2002 XK4)” is currently the largest with an estimated diameter of 1602 to 3581 meters asteroid near earth. “154347 (2002 XK4)” will make its closest approach to Earth at 6:44 p.m. today. The second largest near-Earth asteroid is “385186 (1994 AW1)” and has an estimated diameter of 770 to 1722 meters. “(2014 QR295)” today ranks 3rd among the largest near-Earth asteroids (555 m – 1242 m).
This asteroid is coming particularly close to Earth today
The closest thing to Earth today is the asteroid “(2015 AE45)”. It approaches our planet at 00:59 at a distance of up to 8.5 million km.
The asteroid that has come closest to us so far without impacting Earth was “(2020 QG)”. On August 16, 2020, it flew past Earth at a speed of around 44,000 km/h, just 3,000 km away. Coming from the direction of the sun, experts didn’t see it coming: it was only spotted 6 hours after its flyby. It would probably not have caused much damage on Earth even if it had collided. Because of its small size, only 3 to 6 m in diameter, it is assumed that it would have burned up in the atmosphere if it had come closer.
Potentially dangerous asteroids near Earth today
Potentially dangerous asteroids are those asteroids that are closer to Earth than 0.05 AU (approx. 7.5 million km) and have an absolute brightness of 22 mag or less. They are therefore considered large enough (at least around 140 m in diameter) to cause considerable damage in the event of a collision. About 20 percent of near-Earth asteroids are classified as potentially dangerous.
Today there are 2 potentially dangerous asteroids near Earth: “385186 (1994 AW1)” and “(2017 BQ93)”.
385186 (1994 AW1)
First observation: 12/29/1986
Last observation: 02.11.2022
Absolute magnitude: 17.69 mag (faint)
Estimated diameter: 770 m to 1722 m
Distance: 33.4 million km
Speed: 46527.09 km/h (12.92 km/s)
Time of the shortest distance to earth: on 01.01.2023 at 7.45 p.m
(2017 BQ93)
First observation: 01/30/2017
Last observation: 01/15/2021
Absolute brightness: 20.5 mag (faint)
Estimated diameter: 211 m to 472 m
Distance: 15.4 million km
Speed: 86987.52 km/h (24.16 km/s)
Time of the shortest distance to earth: on 01/01/2023 at 09:38
13 Earth orbit cruisers near Earth
Asteroids that cross the orbit of the earth are also called orbit cruisers. Near-Earth type asteroids Apollo cross Earth’s orbit from outside, near-Earth type asteroids Aten cross the earth’s orbit from within. Today a total of 13 Earth orbit cruisers are approaching our planet.
Near Earth Apollo asteroids today: “154347 (2002 XK4)”, “(2014 QR295)”, “(2015 AE45)”, “(2017 BQ93)”, “(2017 XY61)”, “(2019 YL)”, ” (2021 NZ)”
Near Earth Aten asteroids today: “(2018 VB10)”, “(2019 AE3)”, “(2020 BT3)”, “(2021 AX6)”, “(2021 TU1)”, “(2022 OS)”
Amor and Atira type asteroids do not cross Earth’s orbit. While the hard-to-discover Atira-Asteroids move completely within Earth’s orbit, approaching type asteroids cupid the earth’s orbit from the outside.
- Near Earth Amor asteroids today: “385186 (1994 AW1)”, “453309 (2008 VQ4)”, “(2015 LJ)”, “(2019 YO4)”
All near-Earth asteroids today at a glance
| Surname | distance | size | speed | Type | Appointment close to earth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (2015 AE45) | 8.5 million km | 23 – 52 m | 24704km/h | Apollo | 01/01/2023 at 00:59 |
| (2021 TU1) | 14 million km | 88 – 197 m | 48241km/h | Aten | 1/1/2023 at 1:39 p.m |
| (2017 BQ93) | 15.4 million km | 211 – 472 m | 86988km/h | Apollo | 01/01/2023 at 09:38 |
| (2020 BT3) | 16.8 million km | 21 – 46 m | 37403km/h | Aten | 1/1/2023 at 10:47 am |
| (2019 YL) | 22.2 million km | 18 – 41 m | 36012km/h | Apollo | 01/01/2023 at 02:52 |
| (2019 AE3) | 24.8 million km | 9 – 20 m | 28826km/h | Aten | 01/01/2023 at 04:15 |
| (2017 XY61) | 27.3 million km | 15 – 34 m | 29407km/h | Apollo | 1/1/2023 at 9:49 am |
| 385186 (1994 AW1) | 33.4 million km | 770 – 1722 m | 46527km/h | cupid | 01/01/2023 at 7:45 p.m |
| (2014 QR295) | 39.3 million km | 555 – 1242 m | 58250km/h | Apollo | 1/1/2023 at 1:38 p.m |
| (2018 VB10) | 39.5 million km | 18 – 41 m | 22559km/h | Aten | 1/1/2023 at 10:31 p.m |
| 453309 (2008 VQ4) | 39.6 million km | 346 – 773 m | 20960km/h | cupid | 01/01/2023 at 8:20 p.m |
| 154347 (2002 XK4) | 49.6 million km | 1602 – 3581 m | 98612km/h | Apollo | 1/1/2023 at 6:44 p.m |
| (2021 AX6) | 55.7 million km | 11 – 25 m | 70623km/h | Aten | 01/01/2023 at 12:02 p.m |
| (2015 LJ) | 65 million km | 31 – 68 m | 25881km/h | cupid | 1/1/2023 at 5:33 p.m |
| (2022 OS) | 67.3 million km | 117 – 261 m | 87147km/h | Aten | 01/01/2023 at 12:50 p.m |
| (2021 NZ) | 69.8 million km | 46 – 103 m | 93085km/h | Apollo | 1/1/2023 at 4:03 p.m |
| (2019 YO4) | 73.7 million km | 111 – 248 m | 85356km/h | cupid | 1/1/2023 at 2:48 am |
+++ Editorial note: This text was created automatically based on current data from NASA. If you have any comments or questions, please contact [email protected]. +++
follow News.de already at Facebook and YouTube? Here you will find the latest news, the latest videos and the direct line to the editors. To have all the news around astronomy and space travel, we also recommend our Astro and space news ticker on Twitter.
roj/news.de