2007 XY9

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2007 XY9

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 21,667,954 km of Earth in 2051
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2007 XY9 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2007 XY9 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2007 XY9 orbits the sun every 1,070 days (2.93 years), coming as close as 0.78 AU and reaching as far as 3.32 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2007 XY9 is probably between 0.168 to 0.375 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2007 XY9's orbit is 0.01 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.

2007 XY9 has 11 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Dec. 7, 2051 21,667,954 19.846
Oct. 20, 2054 28,222,384 12.347
Aug. 8, 2057 23,083,561 11.887
Dec. 6, 2101 23,182,823 19.693
Oct. 30, 2104 23,489,975 11.865
Aug. 29, 2107 28,607,543 12.087
July 13, 2110 16,091,510 17.766
Dec. 2, 2160 16,074,984 17.875
Oct. 30, 2163 22,175,264 11.629
Sept. 7, 2166 28,585,216 12.069
July 22, 2169 9,108,593 15.134

Images and Observations

2007 XY9's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 4, 2007. It was last officially observed on July 15, 2013. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 176 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 2007 XY9:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 2.05 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.6197
  • Inclination: 3.34°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 233.95°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 127.36°
  • Mean Anomaly: 151.09°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.217 km
  • Magnitude: 21.0

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 1,070 days (2.93 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 20.84 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 3.32 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.78 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2007 XY9 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 2007 XY9 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.