Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 3,276,555 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2019 DH1 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2019 DH1 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 DH1 orbits the sun every 388 days (1.06 years), coming as close as 0.86 AU and reaching as far as 1.22 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2019 DH1 is probably between 0.010 to 0.045 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2019 DH1's orbit is 0.01 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 DH1 has 10 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
March 18, 2019 3,276,555 5.024
July 14, 2020 20,947,905 4.906
Oct. 22, 2020 25,429,276 4.143
Sept. 21, 2021 28,558,135 11.207
March 12, 2036 13,088,130 8.155
June 13, 2037 23,101,871 5.415
Sept. 17, 2038 11,343,715 7.771
March 8, 2053 27,283,254 11.024
Feb. 2, 2054 26,264,839 4.382
Sept. 13, 2055 1,797,885 5.468

Images and Observations

2019 DH1's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Feb. 28, 2019. It was last officially observed on March 12, 2019. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 56 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2019 DH1 can be reached with a journey of 418 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 5.645 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 443,660 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2019 DH1.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2019 DH1:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.041 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1718
  • Inclination: 0.84°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 299.58°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 321.48°
  • Mean Anomaly: 16.93°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.028 km
  • Magnitude: 26.2

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 388 days (1.06 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 29.19 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.22 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.86 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2019 DH1 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 DH1 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.