1999 UR

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 1999 UR

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 3,666,956 km of Earth in 2033
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

1999 UR is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 1999 UR as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

1999 UR orbits the sun every 955 days (2.61 years), coming as close as 0.94 AU and reaching as far as 2.85 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 1999 UR is probably between 0.133 to 0.298 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

1999 UR's orbit is 0.01 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.

1999 UR has 10 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Oct. 27, 2033 3,666,956 9.212
Dec. 18, 2046 6,866,655 7.972
Jan. 19, 2060 24,946,619 13.512
Oct. 11, 2093 22,604,848 13.338
Nov. 8, 2106 3,302,362 8.167
Jan. 22, 2120 27,872,100 14.159
Oct. 13, 2140 21,293,998 13.034
Jan. 2, 2154 7,350,470 8.903
Oct. 10, 2174 28,588,369 14.536
Jan. 9, 2188 10,033,892 9.856

Images and Observations

1999 UR's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 16, 1999. It was last officially observed on Feb. 13, 2013. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 77 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 1999 UR:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.898 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.504
  • Inclination: 3.59°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 50.65°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 18.21°
  • Mean Anomaly: 36.84°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.172 km
  • Magnitude: 21.5

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 955 days (2.61 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 21.62 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.85 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.94 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 1999 UR 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 1999 UR 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.