2013 US3

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2013 US3

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 6,273,719 km of Earth in 2047
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2013 US3 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2013 US3 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2013 US3 orbits the sun every 481 days (1.32 years), coming as close as 0.98 AU and reaching as far as 1.42 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2013 US3 is probably between 0.095 to 0.426 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

The rotation of 2013 US3 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 450.00 hours.

Close Approaches

2013 US3'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.

2013 US3 has 8 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
April 25, 2047 6,273,719 7.045
April 23, 2072 8,406,099 6.931
May 4, 2093 14,428,613 9.004
April 27, 2118 3,723,818 7.248
April 24, 2139 9,495,954 6.890
May 9, 2156 24,923,494 10.470
April 28, 2177 2,891,314 7.337
May 2, 2194 7,621,859 8.127

Images and Observations

2013 US3's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 24, 2013. It was last officially observed on Feb. 5, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 283 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2013 US3 can be reached with a journey of 362 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 10.779 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 50 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2013 US3.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2013 US3:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.202 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1852
  • Inclination: 12.32°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 39.54°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 134.19°
  • Mean Anomaly: 58.12°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.261 km
  • Magnitude: 21.31

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 481 days (1.32 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 27.19 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.42 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.98 AU
  • Rotation Period: 450.00 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2013 US3 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 2013 US3 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.