Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 7,820,029 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

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

2019 SH orbits the sun every 491 days (1.34 years), coming as close as 0.64 AU and reaching as far as 1.79 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2019 SH is probably between 0.110 to 0.247 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

Close Approaches

2019 SH's orbit is 0.03 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 SH has 1 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Sept. 23, 2019 7,820,029 26.036

Images and Observations

2019 SH's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 17, 2019. It was last officially observed on Sept. 22, 2019. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 128 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 SH:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2458744.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.217 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4748
  • Inclination: 45.13°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 179.15°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 273.02°
  • Mean Anomaly: 314.5°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.142 km
  • Magnitude: 21.91

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 491 days (1.34 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 26.97 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.79 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.64 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2019 SH 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 SH 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.