2004 FU162

(also written 2004 FU162) is a meteoroid which passed within about one Earth radius (~6400 km) of the surface of the Earth at 15:35 UTC on March 31 2004 (or 2.02 Earth radii from the centre of the Earth.) As of 2008 this is the third or fourth closest approach. The discovery was not announced until August 22, 2004.

By comparison, geostationary satellites orbit at 5.6 Earth radii and GPS satellites orbit at 3.17 Earth radii from the centre of the Earth.

It was only observed four times in the space of 44 minutes and could not be followed up, and no pre-discovery images have been found. Nevertheless, its calculated orbit is considered "quite determinate". is estimated to be only 6 meters in diameter. This means that it would burn up from atmospheric friction before striking the ground in the case of an impact. Objects under 50 meters in diameter are generally classified as a meteoroid instead of an asteroid.

On March 26 2010 it will come within 0.0825AU (12.3 million km) of Earth.

References

External links

• Orbital simulation from JPL (Java) / Horizons Ephemeris
• Near Earth Object Program (at NASA.gov)
• MPEC 2004-Q22
• http://www.HohmannTransfer.com/mn/0408/22.htm