2008 UW91

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2008 UW91

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 13,441,982 km of Earth in 2021
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2008 UW91 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2008 UW91 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2008 UW91 orbits the sun every 448 days (1.23 years), coming as close as 0.49 AU and reaching as far as 1.80 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2008 UW91 is probably between 0.121 to 0.270 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

Close Approaches

2008 UW91's orbit is 0.02 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.

2008 UW91 has 20 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
July 8, 2021 13,441,982 19.571
Nov. 23, 2024 9,675,948 16.517
June 30, 2037 23,325,506 14.392
Nov. 16, 2040 16,474,090 21.541
July 10, 2064 16,991,188 20.652
Nov. 26, 2067 19,631,919 14.555
July 7, 2080 12,151,161 18.815
Nov. 25, 2083 12,480,009 15.934
July 8, 2096 13,165,450 19.369
Nov. 26, 2099 18,301,733 14.801
July 13, 2112 23,397,648 22.211
Nov. 14, 2120 28,795,643 24.099
July 2, 2133 22,107,750 14.709
Nov. 21, 2136 4,390,281 19.030
July 7, 2149 12,593,613 17.568
Nov. 25, 2152 9,229,781 16.594
July 12, 2165 17,208,124 20.665
Nov. 29, 2168 26,400,464 13.287
July 15, 2181 26,617,371 22.925
July 12, 2197 18,451,972 20.941

Images and Observations

2008 UW91's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 28, 2008. It was last officially observed on July 27, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 63 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 UW91:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.147 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5716
  • Inclination: 7.32°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 247.97°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 282.92°
  • Mean Anomaly: 324.04°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.156 km
  • Magnitude: 21.71

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 448 days (1.23 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 27.85 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.80 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.49 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2008 UW91 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 UW91 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.