194268 (2001 UY4)

Mid-sized Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 194268 (2001 UY4)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Pentagon (1.24 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 18,289,877 km of Earth in 2022
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

194268 (2001 UY4) is a mid-sized asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2001 UY4 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2001 UY4 orbits the sun every 639 days (1.75 years), coming as close as 0.31 AU and reaching as far as 2.60 AU from the sun. Its orbit is highly elliptical. 2001 UY4 is about 1.2 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the U.S. Pentagon.

The rotation of 2001 UY4 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 6.80 hours.

2001 UY4's spectral type None (Tholen) / X (SMASSII) indicates that it is likely to contain iron, nickel, and cobalt.

Close Approaches

2001 UY4'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 UY4 has 8 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Oct. 22, 2022 18,289,877 24.810
Oct. 22, 2029 16,061,573 25.402
Oct. 22, 2036 16,073,346 25.430
Oct. 23, 2043 15,971,969 25.435
Oct. 22, 2050 16,971,678 25.186
Oct. 21, 2057 19,610,745 24.508
Oct. 20, 2064 22,432,381 23.888
Oct. 20, 2071 25,812,100 23.144

Images and Observations

2001 UY4's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 16, 2001. It was last officially observed on Jan. 18, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 679 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 UY4:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.453 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.7874
  • Inclination: 5.44°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 160.71°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 107.79°
  • Mean Anomaly: 209.26°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 1.24400 km
  • Magnitude: 18.35
  • Albedo: 0.055
  • Spectral type (SMASS): X

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 639 days (1.75 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 24.74 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.60 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.31 AU
  • Rotation Period: 6.80 hours
  • Approx. Composition: iron, nickel, and cobalt.

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 194268 (2001 UY4) 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 UY4 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.