101869 (1999 MM)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 101869 (1999 MM)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building
  • Will pass within 28,885,631 km of Earth in 2030
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

101869 (1999 MM) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 1999 MM as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

1999 MM orbits the sun every 756 days (2.07 years), coming as close as 0.63 AU and reaching as far as 2.62 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 1999 MM is probably between 0.339 to 0.759 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 90% of asteroids but tiny compared to large asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building.

Close Approaches

1999 MM'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.

1999 MM has 12 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
July 29, 2030 28,885,631 12.747
Jan. 16, 2037 26,741,475 23.523
July 22, 2059 20,070,346 14.281
Jan. 14, 2066 18,502,463 21.863
July 14, 2088 3,658,972 17.464
Dec. 22, 2094 28,706,290 12.621
Jan. 15, 2097 22,352,505 22.602
July 20, 2125 14,688,910 15.269
Dec. 27, 2131 25,192,708 13.189
Jan. 19, 2134 28,979,613 23.928
July 12, 2160 4,996,022 19.075
Jan. 3, 2169 13,429,417 15.421

Images and Observations

1999 MM's orbit is determined by observations dating back to June 12, 1999. It was last officially observed on Feb. 12, 2008. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 201 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 1999 MM:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.624 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.6109
  • Inclination: 4.77°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 110.93°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 268.82°
  • Mean Anomaly: 222.24°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.438 km
  • Magnitude: 19.47

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 756 days (2.07 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 23.37 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.62 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.63 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 101869 (1999 MM) 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 1999 MM 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.