2005 JU81

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2005 JU81

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 20,051,681 km of Earth in 2023
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2005 JU81 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2005 JU81 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2005 JU81 orbits the sun every 431 days (1.18 years), coming as close as 0.81 AU and reaching as far as 1.43 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2005 JU81 is probably between 0.115 to 0.258 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

Close Approaches

2005 JU81'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 JU81 has 19 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Nov. 8, 2023 20,051,681 14.727
May 10, 2038 25,227,629 14.770
Dec. 1, 2043 26,134,150 9.738
May 7, 2051 11,932,051 11.524
Nov. 17, 2056 6,089,293 11.431
May 7, 2064 19,293,853 9.989
Nov. 12, 2069 9,360,818 13.062
May 8, 2097 17,341,121 13.287
Nov. 25, 2102 17,983,893 10.187
May 8, 2110 13,051,446 10.907
Nov. 16, 2115 4,151,395 12.013
May 12, 2123 28,127,940 9.388
Nov. 6, 2128 25,363,133 15.579
May 10, 2143 20,156,025 13.844
Nov. 26, 2148 20,057,078 10.037
May 7, 2156 12,642,921 10.996
Nov. 16, 2161 4,110,865 12.080
May 9, 2189 14,484,728 12.707
Nov. 22, 2194 11,499,684 10.740

Images and Observations

2005 JU81's orbit is determined by observations dating back to May 12, 2005. It was last officially observed on April 29, 2018. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 74 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 JU81:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.116 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.2774
  • Inclination: 17.29°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 56.31°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 72.48°
  • Mean Anomaly: 265.95°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.149 km
  • Magnitude: 21.81

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 431 days (1.18 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 28.17 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.43 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.81 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2005 JU81 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 JU81 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.