2004 US1

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2004 US1

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 14,621,697 km of Earth in 2020
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2004 US1 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2004 US1 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.

2004 US1 orbits the sun every 532 days (1.46 years), coming as close as 0.70 AU and reaching as far as 1.86 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2004 US1 is probably between 0.194 to 0.435 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2004 US1's orbit is 0.07 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.

2004 US1 has 16 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Oct. 24, 2020 14,621,697 17.434
April 29, 2026 12,091,576 16.683
Oct. 27, 2036 19,365,052 19.510
May 7, 2042 23,555,816 14.902
April 19, 2077 20,520,772 20.593
Oct. 23, 2087 18,435,177 15.691
April 25, 2093 9,736,576 18.093
Oct. 27, 2103 14,158,789 17.509
May 1, 2109 12,504,911 16.531
Oct. 30, 2119 20,312,260 19.825
May 9, 2125 25,767,935 14.605
April 21, 2160 18,265,596 20.204
Oct. 25, 2170 17,205,303 15.900
April 26, 2176 9,168,519 17.963
Oct. 27, 2186 13,707,746 17.584
May 1, 2192 12,557,072 16.470

Images and Observations

2004 US1's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 18, 2004. It was last officially observed on April 11, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 274 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 2004 US1:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.284 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.451
  • Inclination: 21.41°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 223.33°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 74.33°
  • Mean Anomaly: 35.45°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.251 km
  • Magnitude: 20.68

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 532 days (1.46 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 26.26 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.86 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.70 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2004 US1 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 2004 US1 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.