2000 TU28

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2000 TU28

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 9,883,936 km of Earth in 2020
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2000 TU28 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2000 TU28 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2000 TU28 orbits the sun every 406 days (1.11 years), coming as close as 0.88 AU and reaching as far as 1.27 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2000 TU28 is probably between 0.164 to 0.366 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

The rotation of 2000 TU28 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 128.50 hours.

Close Approaches

2000 TU28's orbit is 0.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

2000 TU28 has 22 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Oct. 23, 2020 9,883,936 9.570
Oct. 24, 2030 10,188,164 9.689
Oct. 23, 2040 12,118,189 10.131
Oct. 23, 2050 17,510,618 11.048
April 22, 2052 27,546,305 13.071
Oct. 22, 2060 25,736,103 12.396
April 19, 2062 18,128,511 11.686
April 16, 2072 10,507,982 10.650
April 16, 2082 9,519,216 10.522
Oct. 22, 2090 29,486,086 12.978
April 18, 2092 16,628,414 11.474
Oct. 24, 2100 20,886,006 11.553
April 23, 2102 26,385,746 12.907
Oct. 25, 2110 14,007,899 10.376
Oct. 25, 2120 10,931,401 9.699
Oct. 25, 2130 10,350,779 9.396
Oct. 25, 2140 10,436,653 9.224
Oct. 25, 2150 10,753,120 9.075
Oct. 24, 2160 11,737,387 8.873
Oct. 23, 2170 14,261,346 8.574
Oct. 20, 2180 19,248,520 8.288
Oct. 16, 2190 26,145,575 8.124

Images and Observations

2000 TU28's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 3, 2000. It was last officially observed on June 5, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 276 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 2000 TU28:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.073 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1828
  • Inclination: 15.6°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 202.99°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 280.96°
  • Mean Anomaly: 143.91°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.212 km
  • Magnitude: 21.05

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 406 days (1.11 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 28.75 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.27 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.88 AU
  • Rotation Period: 128.50 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2000 TU28 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 2000 TU28 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.