Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 1,151,396 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2019 AD is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2019 AD 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.

2019 AD orbits the sun every 430 days (1.18 years), coming as close as 0.93 AU and reaching as far as 1.30 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2019 AD is probably between 0.006 to 0.026 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2019 AD'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.

2019 AD has 8 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Jan. 10, 2019 1,151,396 5.595
July 5, 2019 29,899,113 4.956
May 27, 2026 25,562,986 8.594
Jan. 16, 2039 6,645,370 4.657
June 26, 2039 26,470,969 4.661
Jan. 1, 2052 20,693,814 8.945
May 25, 2059 19,185,300 7.025
Jan. 8, 2085 2,944,564 5.893

Images and Observations

2019 AD's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Jan. 2, 2019. It was last officially observed on Jan. 10, 2019. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 35 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2019 AD can be reached with a journey of 370 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 6.857 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 68,590 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2019 AD.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2019 AD:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.114 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1627
  • Inclination: 7.05°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 287.5°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 235.34°
  • Mean Anomaly: 310.43°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.016 km
  • Magnitude: 27.4

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 430 days (1.18 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 28.18 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.30 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.93 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2019 AD 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.