Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 532,325 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2019 SD8 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2019 SD8 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 SD8 orbits the sun every 853 days (2.34 years), coming as close as 0.88 AU and reaching as far as 2.65 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2019 SD8 is probably between 0.009 to 0.020 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2019 SD8'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 SD8 has 10 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Oct. 2, 2019 532,325 10.897
Oct. 10, 2026 7,162,773 9.524
Nov. 5, 2033 16,688,213 8.887
Dec. 5, 2040 17,558,330 8.849
Jan. 3, 2048 10,450,307 9.724
Jan. 17, 2055 14,722,456 13.070
Sept. 21, 2115 19,435,092 14.733
Oct. 2, 2122 1,146,064 11.028
Sept. 17, 2129 28,672,863 16.577
Jan. 23, 2174 20,910,291 14.605

Images and Observations

2019 SD8's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 22, 2019. It was last officially observed on Oct. 1, 2019. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 62 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 SD8:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.761 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5027
  • Inclination: 3.72°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 5.24°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 54.51°
  • Mean Anomaly: 232.18°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.011 km
  • Magnitude: 27.4

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 853 days (2.34 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 22.46 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.65 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.88 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2019 SD8 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.