2018 UY

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2018 UY

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 2,849,156 km of Earth in 2023
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2018 UY is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2018 UY as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2018 UY orbits the sun every 510 days (1.40 years), coming as close as 0.59 AU and reaching as far as 1.91 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2018 UY is probably between 0.188 to 0.421 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2018 UY's orbit is 0.01 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

2018 UY has 19 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
July 12, 2023 2,849,156 16.383
July 4, 2030 21,314,900 12.325
Dec. 25, 2032 18,153,743 12.798
Dec. 17, 2039 7,442,839 17.933
July 20, 2062 23,929,724 21.123
July 8, 2069 12,616,144 14.032
Dec. 27, 2071 21,858,757 12.021
Dec. 13, 2078 20,109,117 20.494
July 20, 2094 23,403,616 21.030
July 9, 2101 12,772,678 14.019
Dec. 29, 2103 23,758,131 11.650
Dec. 19, 2110 5,287,460 17.496
July 11, 2140 7,797,858 15.027
Dec. 31, 2142 26,951,972 11.003
Dec. 15, 2149 18,559,886 20.197
July 18, 2165 13,933,396 19.133
Dec. 21, 2174 1,941,594 16.764
July 11, 2190 10,351,160 14.503
Dec. 25, 2192 13,324,220 13.771

Images and Observations

2018 UY's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 11, 2007. It was last officially observed on July 29, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 181 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 2018 UY:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.249 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5316
  • Inclination: 1.75°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 72.44°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 114.62°
  • Mean Anomaly: 84.97°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.243 km
  • Magnitude: 20.75

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 510 days (1.40 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 26.64 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.91 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.59 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2018 UY 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 2018 UY 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.