2019 QU2

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 2019 QU2

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 23,457,220 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2019 QU2 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2019 QU2 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 QU2 orbits the sun every 273 days (0.75 years), coming as close as 0.24 AU and reaching as far as 1.40 AU from the sun. Its orbit is highly elliptical. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2019 QU2 is probably between 0.099 to 0.222 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2019 QU2's orbit is 0.10 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 QU2 has 38 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Sept. 17, 2019 23,457,220 17.580
July 12, 2021 17,941,505 20.961
Sept. 17, 2022 18,597,995 18.590
July 11, 2024 18,774,890 19.660
Sept. 17, 2025 15,199,377 19.777
July 12, 2027 21,804,629 18.500
Sept. 16, 2028 14,565,882 21.111
July 13, 2030 26,029,669 17.535
Sept. 16, 2031 17,237,630 22.552
Sept. 14, 2034 22,297,408 24.112
Sept. 12, 2037 28,946,404 25.835
July 16, 2086 25,506,931 24.443
July 14, 2089 20,426,354 22.733
Sept. 17, 2090 24,455,590 17.445
July 12, 2092 17,881,002 21.163
Sept. 17, 2093 19,283,958 18.462
July 13, 2095 18,429,138 19.772
Sept. 17, 2096 15,565,660 19.684
July 12, 2098 21,512,156 18.534
Sept. 17, 2099 14,801,941 21.079
July 14, 2101 26,121,461 17.493
Sept. 17, 2102 17,778,517 22.658
Sept. 15, 2105 23,540,382 24.394
July 17, 2157 24,490,786 24.172
Sept. 16, 2158 29,784,295 16.758
July 15, 2160 20,080,628 22.638
Sept. 18, 2161 24,611,982 17.445
July 15, 2163 17,798,855 21.256
Sept. 18, 2164 20,061,976 18.313
July 14, 2166 17,942,046 20.018
Sept. 19, 2167 16,463,332 19.364
July 13, 2169 20,283,819 18.869
Sept. 18, 2170 14,890,326 20.596
July 14, 2172 24,107,903 17.872
Sept. 17, 2173 16,328,881 21.966
July 16, 2175 28,763,898 17.076
Sept. 16, 2176 20,516,961 23.483
Sept. 15, 2179 26,585,912 25.155

Images and Observations

2019 QU2's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Aug. 12, 2004. It was last officially observed on Aug. 29, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 54 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 QU2:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.8238 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.7047
  • Inclination: 11.32°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 145.71°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 355.84°
  • Mean Anomaly: 36.91°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.128 km
  • Magnitude: 22.14

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 273 days (0.75 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 32.83 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.40 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.24 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2019 QU2 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 QU2 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.