140158 (2001 SX169)

Small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 140158 (2001 SX169)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge (0.57 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 15,440,605 km of Earth in 2021
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

140158 (2001 SX169) is a small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2001 SX169 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2001 SX169 orbits the sun every 571 days (1.56 years), coming as close as 0.73 AU and reaching as far as 1.97 AU from the sun. 2001 SX169 is about 0.6 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than ~97% of asteroids but small compared to large asteroids, comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge.

The rotation of 2001 SX169 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 3.14 hours.

Close Approaches

2001 SX169's orbit is 0.03 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 SX169 has 15 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
May 27, 2021 15,440,605 10.265
Jan. 23, 2043 29,017,024 9.611
June 7, 2046 6,854,126 13.928
Dec. 17, 2053 11,226,752 15.195
June 13, 2071 19,655,696 16.771
Dec. 18, 2078 9,746,961 14.862
June 7, 2096 6,826,828 13.840
Dec. 28, 2117 9,916,802 11.250
May 17, 2121 24,664,111 8.906
June 13, 2135 15,013,768 15.797
Dec. 17, 2142 17,780,482 16.560
June 10, 2160 9,234,148 14.533
Dec. 19, 2167 14,623,060 15.897
June 10, 2185 8,829,959 14.412
Dec. 15, 2192 23,776,749 17.782

Images and Observations

2001 SX169's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 7, 2001. It was last officially observed on July 30, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 833 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 SX169:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.347 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.461
  • Inclination: 2.52°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 126.8°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 42.72°
  • Mean Anomaly: 202.32°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 0.56600 km
  • Magnitude: 18.5
  • Albedo: 0.289

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 571 days (1.56 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 25.66 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.97 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.73 AU
  • Rotation Period: 3.14 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 140158 (2001 SX169) 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 SX169 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.