2014 UR116

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2014 UR116

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building
  • Will pass within 25,414,290 km of Earth in 2044
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2014 UR116 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2014 UR116 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2014 UR116 orbits the sun every 1,090 days (2.98 years), coming as close as 0.56 AU and reaching as far as 3.58 AU from the sun. Its orbit is highly elliptical. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2014 UR116 is probably between 0.293 to 0.655 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 2014 UR116 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 17.75 hours.

Close Approaches

2014 UR116'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.

2014 UR116 has 7 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
April 19, 2044 25,414,290 17.948
April 10, 2047 4,432,872 22.868
March 31, 2050 25,901,792 28.002
Oct. 26, 2100 15,632,929 26.020
April 9, 2118 4,714,244 23.447
Oct. 22, 2156 7,853,641 23.716
April 10, 2171 5,351,270 23.056

Images and Observations

2014 UR116's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 1, 2008. It was last officially observed on Dec. 11, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 562 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 2014 UR116:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 2.071 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.7272
  • Inclination: 6.57°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 5.93°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 286.89°
  • Mean Anomaly: 10.38°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.378 km
  • Magnitude: 19.79

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 1,090 days (2.98 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 20.67 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 3.58 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.56 AU
  • Rotation Period: 17.75 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2014 UR116 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 2014 UR116 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.