2009 FF

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2009 FF

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 2,613,238 km of Earth in 2025
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2009 FF is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2009 FF as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2009 FF orbits the sun every 654 days (1.79 years), coming as close as 0.78 AU and reaching as far as 2.16 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2009 FF is probably between 0.116 to 0.259 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

Close Approaches

2009 FF'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.

2009 FF has 14 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Sept. 11, 2025 2,613,238 12.927
May 11, 2043 23,836,860 9.581
April 6, 2052 20,153,196 16.983
Sept. 13, 2059 3,491,925 13.504
Aug. 16, 2068 24,374,349 9.621
May 25, 2086 28,802,642 10.182
April 19, 2095 5,729,360 11.981
April 11, 2104 11,089,933 15.193
Sept. 17, 2120 7,696,173 14.466
Sept. 9, 2129 7,713,507 11.585
Aug. 13, 2138 26,172,910 9.773
May 4, 2165 19,063,181 9.727
April 17, 2174 2,449,153 13.305
Sept. 25, 2181 25,532,823 18.045

Images and Observations

2009 FF's orbit is determined by observations dating back to April 5, 1984. It was last officially observed on March 20, 2018. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 88 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 2009 FF:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.474 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.468
  • Inclination: 0.98°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 265.82°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 11.09°
  • Mean Anomaly: 345.66°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.150 km
  • Magnitude: 21.8

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 654 days (1.79 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 24.52 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.16 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.78 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2009 FF 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 2009 FF 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.