11028 (1987 UW)

Mid-sized Main-belt Asteroid

Space Reference » Main-belt Asteroids » 11028 (1987 UW)

Key Facts

Overview

11028 (1987 UW) is a mid-sized asteroid orbiting between Mars and Jupiter in the main portion of the asteroid belt. NASA JPL has not classified 1987 UW as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.

1987 UW orbits the sun every 1,560 days (4.27 years), coming as close as 2.20 AU and reaching as far as 3.06 AU from the sun. 1987 UW is about 4.4 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the island of Manhattan.

No Close Approaches

1987 UW's orbit is 1.21 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is an extremely wide berth between this asteroid and Earth at all times.

Orbital simulations conducted by NASA JPL's CNEOS do not show any close approaches to Earth.

Images and Observations

1987 UW's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 20, 1979. It was last officially observed on April 19, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 2,655 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 1987 UW:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 2.63 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1644
  • Inclination: 32.23°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 205.99°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 158.98°
  • Mean Anomaly: 172.44°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 4.35800 km
  • Magnitude: 14.07
  • Albedo: 0.281

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 1,560 days (4.27 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 18.34 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 3.06 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 2.20 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 11028 (1987 UW) 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 above comparison is an artistic rendering that uses available data on the diameter of 1987 UW to create an approximate landscape rendering with Mount Everest in the background. This approximation is built for full-resolution desktop browsers. Shape, color, and texture of asteroid are imagined.