Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 563,208 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2019 CN2 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2019 CN2 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 CN2 orbits the sun every 319 days (0.87 years), coming as close as 0.71 AU and reaching as far as 1.12 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2019 CN2 is probably between 0.004 to 0.016 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2019 CN2's orbit is 0.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

2019 CN2 has 16 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Feb. 11, 2019 563,208 7.908
Feb. 11, 2026 7,676,911 9.199
Feb. 11, 2033 1,888,813 8.164
Oct. 21, 2038 25,825,942 10.836
Feb. 10, 2040 22,704,275 12.145
Oct. 12, 2045 19,423,906 6.562
Dec. 14, 2052 27,433,695 5.938
Feb. 1, 2060 14,885,933 6.008
Feb. 11, 2067 12,050,969 10.033
Oct. 13, 2072 19,049,702 6.944
Dec. 26, 2079 26,282,665 6.088
Feb. 10, 2087 5,944,164 6.881
Feb. 11, 2094 15,691,473 10.744
Oct. 16, 2099 19,099,830 7.952
Feb. 13, 2128 3,422,273 8.390
Feb. 13, 2155 12,009,073 10.043

Images and Observations

2019 CN2's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Feb. 4, 2019. It was last officially observed on Feb. 9, 2019. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 23 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2019 CN2 can be reached with a journey of 378 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 9.357 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 24,968 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2019 CN2.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2019 CN2:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.9141 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.2239
  • Inclination: 8.05°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 320.79°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 304.37°
  • Mean Anomaly: 349.05°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.010 km
  • Magnitude: 28.4

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 319 days (0.87 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 31.17 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.12 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.71 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2019 CN2 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.