Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 27,448,622 km of Earth in 2030
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2005 JU1 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2005 JU1 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2005 JU1 orbits the sun every 1,310 days (3.59 years), coming as close as 0.73 AU and reaching as far as 3.94 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2005 JU1 is probably between 0.121 to 0.272 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

Close Approaches

2005 JU1'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.

2005 JU1 has 7 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
June 1, 2030 27,448,622 13.840
Oct. 6, 2037 5,605,568 18.101
Oct. 19, 2062 29,863,526 24.329
May 16, 2123 8,137,649 17.838
Oct. 19, 2130 28,664,538 23.616
May 4, 2184 26,473,432 23.217
Sept. 18, 2191 27,245,227 13.852

Images and Observations

2005 JU1's orbit is determined by observations dating back to April 16, 2005. It was last officially observed on Nov. 7, 2012. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 162 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 2005 JU1:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 2.337 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.6858
  • Inclination: 6.07°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 33.0°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 269.57°
  • Mean Anomaly: 32.09°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.157 km
  • Magnitude: 21.7

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 1,310 days (3.59 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 19.41 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 3.94 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.73 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2005 JU1 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 2005 JU1 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.