Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 24,715,980 km of Earth in 2057
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

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

2019 HN orbits the sun every 929 days (2.54 years), coming as close as 0.68 AU and reaching as far as 3.05 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2019 HN is probably between 0.221 to 0.494 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2019 HN'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 HN has 8 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Oct. 15, 2057 24,715,980 27.527
April 27, 2075 27,649,637 22.095
Oct. 13, 2085 20,728,067 26.386
April 26, 2103 23,636,198 22.603
Oct. 13, 2113 19,806,178 26.013
April 27, 2131 26,067,411 22.290
Oct. 15, 2141 21,444,698 26.901
Oct. 17, 2169 26,788,974 28.382

Images and Observations

2019 HN's orbit is determined by observations dating back to April 23, 2019. It was last officially observed on Sept. 18, 2019. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 53 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 HN:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.863 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.6357
  • Inclination: 34.75°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 207.39°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 81.71°
  • Mean Anomaly: 236.8°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.285 km
  • Magnitude: 20.4

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 929 days (2.54 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 21.82 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 3.05 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.68 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2019 HN 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 HN 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.