Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 17,653,149 km of Earth in 2022
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2016 UO5 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2016 UO5 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.

2016 UO5 orbits the sun every 311 days (0.85 years), coming as close as 0.72 AU and reaching as far as 1.08 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2016 UO5 is probably between 0.012 to 0.054 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2016 UO5's orbit is 0.07 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.

2016 UO5 has 3 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Dec. 9, 2022 17,653,149 7.716
Sept. 12, 2033 20,713,385 8.988
Dec. 10, 2051 19,008,519 8.051

Images and Observations

2016 UO5's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 20, 2016. It was last officially observed on Nov. 5, 2016. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 32 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2016 UO5 can be reached with a journey of 362 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 9.233 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 48,748 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2016 UO5.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2016 UO5:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.8981 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.2
  • Inclination: 6.66°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 208.51°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 1.64°
  • Mean Anomaly: 212.5°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.033 km
  • Magnitude: 25.8

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 311 days (0.85 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 31.42 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.08 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.72 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2016 UO5 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 2016 UO5 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.