2017 MU8

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 2017 MU8

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 10,286,760 km of Earth in 2031
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2017 MU8 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2017 MU8 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2017 MU8 orbits the sun every 341 days (0.93 years), coming as close as 0.71 AU and reaching as far as 1.20 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2017 MU8 is probably between 0.133 to 0.298 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2017 MU8'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.

2017 MU8 has 15 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
June 24, 2031 10,286,760 10.612
June 22, 2045 8,700,847 11.906
June 24, 2059 24,903,924 14.600
Dec. 5, 2061 29,284,829 13.012
June 25, 2074 14,743,793 10.208
June 22, 2088 7,826,296 11.732
June 25, 2102 24,149,812 14.495
Dec. 5, 2104 29,188,802 13.014
June 26, 2117 15,787,396 10.128
June 24, 2131 7,467,609 11.634
June 25, 2145 24,697,572 14.600
Dec. 7, 2147 28,972,371 12.968
June 25, 2160 10,987,143 10.508
June 24, 2174 15,302,957 13.068
June 27, 2189 18,036,243 9.991

Images and Observations

2017 MU8's orbit is determined by observations dating back to June 30, 2017. It was last officially observed on Oct. 18, 2018. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 76 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 2017 MU8:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.9561 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.2545
  • Inclination: 18.61°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 276.16°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 228.22°
  • Mean Anomaly: 349.5°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.172 km
  • Magnitude: 21.5

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 341 days (0.93 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 30.50 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.20 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.71 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2017 MU8 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 2017 MU8 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.