140039 (2001 SO73)

Small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 140039 (2001 SO73)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge
  • Will pass within 18,360,469 km of Earth in 2023
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

140039 (2001 SO73) is a small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2001 SO73 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2001 SO73 orbits the sun every 897 days (2.46 years), coming as close as 0.78 AU and reaching as far as 2.86 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2001 SO73 is probably between 0.635 to 1.419 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than ~97% of asteroids but small compared to large asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge.

Close Approaches

2001 SO73's orbit is 0.05 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is a wide berth between this asteroid and Earth at all times.

2001 SO73 has 9 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Feb. 25, 2023 18,360,469 18.114
June 16, 2045 27,944,044 11.430
March 12, 2050 11,300,916 12.957
July 22, 2072 14,122,343 15.923
Feb. 21, 2082 28,875,425 20.358
June 29, 2104 23,648,388 11.348
March 27, 2109 21,161,039 11.589
March 13, 2141 10,827,702 13.099
March 17, 2173 13,336,227 12.541

Images and Observations

2001 SO73's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 19, 2001. It was last officially observed on July 27, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 698 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 2001 SO73:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.82 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5688
  • Inclination: 4.86°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 197.19°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 30.9°
  • Mean Anomaly: 62.61°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.819 km
  • Magnitude: 18.11

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 897 days (2.46 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 22.07 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.86 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.78 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 140039 (2001 SO73) 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 2001 SO73 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.