2011 OB

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 2011 OB

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building
  • Will pass within 23,977,980 km of Earth in 2048
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2011 OB is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2011 OB as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2011 OB orbits the sun every 314 days (0.86 years), coming as close as 0.43 AU and reaching as far as 1.38 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2011 OB is probably between 0.349 to 0.780 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.

Close Approaches

2011 OB'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.

2011 OB has 16 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
July 6, 2048 23,977,980 16.678
July 7, 2054 12,760,690 18.064
July 8, 2060 2,759,464 19.575
July 10, 2066 4,553,983 20.571
July 12, 2072 14,639,210 22.297
July 15, 2078 25,770,791 24.285
July 8, 2115 26,354,708 16.421
July 8, 2121 15,663,211 17.675
July 10, 2127 6,125,910 19.038
July 11, 2133 2,224,227 20.110
July 13, 2139 12,173,284 21.873
July 16, 2145 24,325,024 24.028
July 8, 2176 25,452,916 16.530
July 9, 2182 13,109,204 18.034
July 10, 2188 2,821,001 19.638
July 12, 2194 5,981,458 20.814

Images and Observations

2011 OB's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Aug. 12, 1993. It was last officially observed on Sept. 10, 2019. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 69 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 OB:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.904 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5241
  • Inclination: 27.74°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 106.23°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 48.92°
  • Mean Anomaly: 127.26°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.450 km
  • Magnitude: 19.41

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 314 days (0.86 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 31.32 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.38 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.43 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2011 OB 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 OB 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.