2009 UZ87

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 2009 UZ87

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 26,847,485 km of Earth in 2025
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2009 UZ87 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2009 UZ87 as a "Near Earth Asteroid" due to its orbit's proximity to Earth, but it is not considered potentially hazardous because computer simulations have not indicated any imminent likelihood of future collision.

2009 UZ87 orbits the sun every 324 days (0.89 years), coming as close as 0.75 AU and reaching as far as 1.10 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2009 UZ87 is probably between 0.011 to 0.051 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2009 UZ87'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.

2009 UZ87 has 33 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Sept. 9, 2025 26,847,485 3.332
Dec. 1, 2025 17,180,821 4.753
Dec. 23, 2033 18,618,854 4.794
April 4, 2034 27,381,531 4.931
Jan. 1, 2042 18,391,145 4.677
March 26, 2042 25,065,821 4.214
Dec. 23, 2049 19,002,922 4.840
April 5, 2050 27,732,037 5.054
Aug. 30, 2057 28,864,467 4.195
Dec. 5, 2057 18,271,761 4.855
Nov. 14, 2065 14,653,599 4.590
Nov. 1, 2073 10,409,371 4.561
Nov. 3, 2081 11,286,776 4.530
Nov. 22, 2089 16,094,201 4.693
Dec. 15, 2097 18,719,038 4.848
April 10, 2098 29,315,246 5.463
Jan. 10, 2106 17,438,555 4.522
Jan. 31, 2114 14,085,111 4.139
Feb. 5, 2122 13,062,764 4.198
Jan. 24, 2130 15,494,937 4.193
Jan. 4, 2138 18,406,751 4.667
March 23, 2138 24,413,819 4.027
Dec. 16, 2145 19,096,222 4.903
April 12, 2146 29,615,984 5.564
Sept. 2, 2153 28,176,139 3.946
Dec. 3, 2153 17,992,504 4.830
Sept. 3, 2161 27,908,543 3.823
Dec. 2, 2161 17,783,553 4.806
Dec. 18, 2169 18,723,209 4.840
April 8, 2170 28,611,264 5.266
Jan. 14, 2178 16,715,299 4.390
Feb. 11, 2186 10,517,597 4.818
Feb. 13, 2194 10,707,785 6.900

Images and Observations

2009 UZ87's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 27, 2009. It was last officially observed on Nov. 9, 2009. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 31 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2009 UZ87 can be reached with a journey of 426 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 8.317 km/s. To put this into perspective, the delta-v to launch a rocket to Low-Earth Orbit is 9.7 km/s. There are 152,545 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2009 UZ87.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2009 UZ87:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.9234 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1884
  • Inclination: 3.78°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 218.39°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 45.13°
  • Mean Anomaly: 341.5°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.031 km
  • Magnitude: 25.9

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 324 days (0.89 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 31.01 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.10 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.75 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2009 UZ87 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 UZ87 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.