2006 UE17

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2006 UE17

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 25,513,862 km of Earth in 2020
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2006 UE17 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2006 UE17 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.

2006 UE17 orbits the sun every 466 days (1.28 years), coming as close as 0.79 AU and reaching as far as 1.57 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2006 UE17 is probably between 0.111 to 0.248 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

Close Approaches

2006 UE17's orbit is 0.06 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.

2006 UE17 has 18 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Nov. 14, 2020 25,513,862 8.244
May 1, 2026 8,675,620 11.451
Nov. 13, 2043 23,680,408 13.928
March 25, 2049 29,039,645 9.076
Nov. 16, 2057 19,081,394 9.360
April 26, 2063 10,672,042 10.182
May 9, 2077 19,453,580 13.974
Nov. 16, 2094 16,620,415 11.390
April 14, 2100 19,832,854 9.070
Nov. 15, 2108 26,306,369 8.155
May 3, 2114 9,059,292 11.494
Nov. 14, 2131 25,057,515 14.220
Nov. 18, 2145 18,717,605 9.507
April 27, 2151 11,079,174 10.156
May 10, 2165 17,952,419 13.644
Nov. 17, 2182 18,477,682 12.260
April 6, 2188 24,237,952 9.002
Nov. 17, 2196 23,249,509 8.569

Images and Observations

2006 UE17's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 19, 2006. It was last officially observed on Nov. 16, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 104 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 2006 UE17:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.176 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3323
  • Inclination: 12.13°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 27.67°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 115.36°
  • Mean Anomaly: 19.38°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.143 km
  • Magnitude: 21.9

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 466 days (1.28 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 27.45 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.57 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.79 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2006 UE17 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 2006 UE17 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.