2009 FU23

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 2009 FU23

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 10,561,512 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2009 FU23 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2009 FU23 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2009 FU23 orbits the sun every 280 days (0.77 years), coming as close as 0.60 AU and reaching as far as 1.07 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2009 FU23 is probably between 0.254 to 0.568 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 90% of asteroids but tiny compared to large asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2009 FU23's orbit is 0.03 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 FU23 has 21 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
May 12, 2019 10,561,512 11.214
May 11, 2032 10,535,782 8.583
May 9, 2042 24,989,761 13.903
April 21, 2045 28,680,401 7.718
May 13, 2055 8,046,936 10.734
May 12, 2068 9,819,321 8.656
May 9, 2078 27,008,535 14.286
April 25, 2081 27,181,755 7.703
May 12, 2091 10,454,615 11.210
May 13, 2104 6,911,806 9.093
May 9, 2114 29,799,154 14.796
April 29, 2117 25,430,875 7.719
May 13, 2127 11,042,393 11.311
May 13, 2140 6,441,402 9.176
May 10, 2150 28,859,657 14.611
April 27, 2153 26,358,531 7.729
May 14, 2163 8,076,387 10.740
May 13, 2176 7,148,709 9.030
May 10, 2186 28,097,290 14.475
April 26, 2189 26,809,638 7.732
May 14, 2199 6,931,811 10.527

Images and Observations

2009 FU23's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 30, 2002. It was last officially observed on May 7, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 184 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 FU23:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.8372 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.2823
  • Inclination: 13.9°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 57.75°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 315.29°
  • Mean Anomaly: 126.16°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.328 km
  • Magnitude: 20.1

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 280 days (0.77 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 32.53 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.07 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.60 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2009 FU23 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 FU23 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.