2008 UE7

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2008 UE7

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 11,275,154 km of Earth in 2028
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2008 UE7 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2008 UE7 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2008 UE7 orbits the sun every 773 days (2.12 years), coming as close as 0.91 AU and reaching as far as 2.39 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2008 UE7 is probably between 0.221 to 0.494 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

The rotation of 2008 UE7 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 3.25 hours.

Close Approaches

2008 UE7's orbit is 0.01 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

2008 UE7 has 10 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
March 4, 2028 11,275,154 7.843
Dec. 5, 2044 21,933,946 13.522
Jan. 19, 2064 12,178,351 7.478
March 28, 2083 19,463,472 12.209
Jan. 1, 2100 7,285,606 7.820
Dec. 4, 2116 27,006,853 14.522
March 12, 2136 10,264,550 8.382
Jan. 2, 2153 7,376,923 7.792
Dec. 14, 2169 10,003,347 11.046
March 29, 2189 18,116,899 11.888

Images and Observations

2008 UE7's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 26, 2008. It was last officially observed on Oct. 1, 2010. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 515 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 2008 UE7:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.649 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.448
  • Inclination: 3.95°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 81.14°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 48.79°
  • Mean Anomaly: 331.43°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.285 km
  • Magnitude: 20.4

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 773 days (2.12 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 23.21 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.39 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.91 AU
  • Rotation Period: 3.25 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2008 UE7 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 2008 UE7 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.