17441 (1989 UE)

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Main-belt Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the island of Manhattan
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

17441 (1989 UE) is a mid-sized asteroid orbiting between Mars and Jupiter in the main portion of the asteroid belt. NASA JPL has not classified 1989 UE as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.

1989 UE orbits the sun every 1,320 days (3.61 years), coming as close as 1.82 AU and reaching as far as 2.89 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 1989 UE is probably between 3.038 to 6.793 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the island of Manhattan.

No Close Approaches

1989 UE's orbit is 0.83 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is a very 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

1989 UE's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 20, 1989. It was last officially observed on May 31, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 2,248 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 1989 UE:

• 4 Vesta (A807 FA)
• 30 Urania (A854 OA)
• 51 Nemausa (A858 BA)

References

• JPL Small Body Database
• Mission Design
• Sky Finder Chart

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 17441 (1989 UE) 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 1989 UE 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.