Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Aug 3, 2026

2005 HC4

2005 HC4 is the asteroid with the second-smallest perihelion and the asteroid with the smallest known perihelion of any known object orbiting the Sun from 2005 to 2024 (except sungrazing comets). Its extreme orbital eccentricity brings it to within 0.071 AU of the Sun (23% of Mercury's perihelion) and takes it as far as 3.562 AU from the Sun (well beyond the orbit of Mars). Since then, another asteroid, 2024 YL3, has been found to have a closer perihelion, at about 0.070 AU. Due to its very small perihelion and comparably large aphelion, 2005 HC4 achieves the fastest speed of any known asteroid bound to the Solar System with a velocity of 157 km/s (565,000 km/h; 351,000 mi/h) at perihelion (there are comets, however, which obtain much higher speeds).

Last revised
Aug 3, 2026
Read time
≈ 2 min
Length
411 w
Citations
6
Source
2005 HC4
Discovery1
Discovered byLONEOS
Discovery date30 April 2005
Designations
Orbital characteristics2
Epoch 3 May 2005 (JD 2453493.5)
Uncertainty parameter 9
Aphelion3.5707 AU (534.17 Gm)
Perihelion0.070657 AU (10.5701 Gm)
1.8207 AU (272.37 Gm)
Eccentricity0.96119
2.46 yr (897.30 d)
341.42°
0° 24m 4.32s /day
Inclination8.3967°
63.790°
309.01°
Earth MOID0.0615074 AU (9.20138 Gm)
Jupiter MOID1.92798 AU (288.422 Gm)
Physical characteristics
Dimensions210–480 m3
20.7

2005 HC4 is the asteroid with the second-smallest perihelion and the asteroid with the smallest known perihelion of any known object orbiting the Sun from 2005 to 2024 (except sungrazing comets). Its extreme orbital eccentricity brings it to within 0.071 AU of the Sun (23% of Mercury's perihelion) and takes it as far as 3.562 AU from the Sun (well beyond the orbit of Mars).4 Since then, another asteroid, 2024 YL3, has been found to have a closer perihelion, at about 0.070 AU.5 Due to its very small perihelion and comparably large aphelion, 2005 HC4 achieves the fastest speed of any known asteroid bound to the Solar System with a velocity of 157 km/s (565,000 km/h; 351,000 mi/h) at perihelion6 (there are comets, however, which obtain much higher speeds).

See also

See also

References

References

  1. "MPEC 2005-J02 : 2005 HC4". IAU Minor Planet Center. 1 May 2005. Retrieved 5 March 2014. (K05H04C)
  2. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2005 HC4)" (2005-05-11 last obs (arc=11 days)). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  3. "NEODyS 2005 HC4". Near Earth Objects – Dynamic Site. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
  4. "IAU Minor Planet Center". minorplanetcenter.net. Retrieved 12 January 2026.
  5. "IAU Minor Planet Center". minorplanetcenter.net. Retrieved 12 January 2026.
  6. As calculated with the vis-viva-equation : v 2 = G M ( 2 r 1 a ) {\displaystyle v^{2}=GM\left({2 \over r}-{1 \over a}\right)} where:
External links