1998 SD9

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
• Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
• Will pass within 4,065,445 km of Earth in 2021
• Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

1998 SD9 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 1998 SD9 as a "Near Earth Asteroid" due to its orbit's proximity to Earth, but it is not considered potentially hazardous because computer simulations have not indicated any imminent likelihood of future collision.

1998 SD9 orbits the sun every 215 days (0.59 years), coming as close as 0.35 AU and reaching as far as 1.06 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 1998 SD9 is probably between 0.040 to 0.090 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

1998 SD9's orbit is 0.01 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

1998 SD9 has 38 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Images and Observations

1998 SD9's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 18, 1998. It was last officially observed on Sept. 15, 2018. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 150 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 1998 SD9:

• 417217 (2005 YS)
• 434313 (2004 GP)
• 468468 (2004 KH17)

References

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

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 1998 SD9 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 1998 SD9 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.