Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 8,788,228 km of Earth in 2020
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2019 AN5 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2019 AN5 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2019 AN5 orbits the sun every 745 days (2.04 years), coming as close as 0.94 AU and reaching as far as 2.27 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2019 AN5 is probably between 0.162 to 0.363 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

The rotation of 2019 AN5 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 51.16 hours.

Close Approaches

2019 AN5'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.

2019 AN5 has 12 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Aug. 19, 2020 8,788,228 9.472
Oct. 27, 2022 7,650,705 6.830
Nov. 30, 2024 26,494,267 13.351
Aug. 19, 2071 9,775,706 9.731
Oct. 16, 2073 9,349,987 6.711
Nov. 27, 2075 18,334,412 11.671
Aug. 9, 2124 28,775,926 13.747
Sept. 4, 2126 5,475,573 7.378
Nov. 14, 2128 3,662,378 7.972
Aug. 15, 2175 19,996,179 11.925
Sept. 29, 2177 9,777,433 6.707
Nov. 26, 2179 13,658,243 10.653

Images and Observations

2019 AN5's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Feb. 15, 2013. It was last officially observed on Dec. 27, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 632 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 2019 AN5:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.608 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4139
  • Inclination: 2.02°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 276.46°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 98.55°
  • Mean Anomaly: 162.58°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.210 km
  • Magnitude: 21.07

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 745 days (2.04 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 23.48 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.27 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.94 AU
  • Rotation Period: 51.16 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2019 AN5 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 2019 AN5 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.