Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building
  • Will pass within 11,679,454 km of Earth in 2051
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2011 JR13 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2011 JR13 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2011 JR13 orbits the sun every 541 days (1.48 years), coming as close as 0.36 AU and reaching as far as 2.24 AU from the sun. Its orbit is highly elliptical. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2011 JR13 is probably between 0.302 to 0.676 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 90% of asteroids but tiny compared to large asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building.

The rotation of 2011 JR13 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 3.96 hours.

Close Approaches

2011 JR13's orbit is 0.05 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.

2011 JR13 has 8 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
May 24, 2051 11,679,454 24.970
May 15, 2054 25,011,786 31.096
May 27, 2088 27,646,854 22.040
May 20, 2091 10,541,273 27.881
May 24, 2128 9,687,123 25.677
May 16, 2131 29,197,110 31.887
May 28, 2165 23,055,779 22.869
May 20, 2168 14,766,875 28.755

Images and Observations

2011 JR13's orbit is determined by observations dating back to May 10, 2011. It was last officially observed on April 20, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 226 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 2011 JR13:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.299 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.7258
  • Inclination: 24.7°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 235.08°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 129.58°
  • Mean Anomaly: 71.41°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.390 km
  • Magnitude: 19.72

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 541 days (1.48 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 26.12 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.24 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.36 AU
  • Rotation Period: 3.96 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2011 JR13 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 2011 JR13 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.