163132 (2002 CU11)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 163132 (2002 CU11)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building (0.46 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 22,436,335 km of Earth in 2045
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

163132 (2002 CU11) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2002 CU11 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2002 CU11 orbits the sun every 492 days (1.35 years), coming as close as 0.86 AU and reaching as far as 1.58 AU from the sun. 2002 CU11 is about 0.5 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 90% of asteroids but tiny compared to large asteroids, comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building.

Close Approaches

2002 CU11's orbit is 0.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is very close to Earth's orbit.

2002 CU11 has 8 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Aug. 25, 2045 22,436,335 25.256
Sept. 3, 2049 12,622,389 27.321
Aug. 31, 2080 636,149 26.364
Sept. 4, 2084 16,181,810 27.608
Aug. 26, 2139 27,010,034 25.103
Aug. 30, 2143 9,871,663 25.789
Sept. 3, 2147 6,296,538 26.811
Sept. 8, 2151 24,428,903 28.325

Images and Observations

2002 CU11's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Feb. 7, 2002. It was last officially observed on June 5, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 513 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 2002 CU11:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.22 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.2952
  • Inclination: 48.78°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 157.75°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 110.52°
  • Mean Anomaly: 296.5°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 0.46000 km
  • Magnitude: 18.61
  • Albedo: 0.408

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 492 days (1.35 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 26.98 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.58 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.86 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 163132 (2002 CU11) 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 2002 CU11 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.