Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 3,812,348 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2019 UH7 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2019 UH7 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 UH7 orbits the sun every 731 days (2.00 years), coming as close as 1.00 AU and reaching as far as 2.17 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2019 UH7 is probably between 0.006 to 0.025 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2019 UH7's orbit is 0.02 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 UH7 has 15 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Oct. 30, 2019 3,812,348 6.174
Nov. 1, 2021 3,666,662 6.014
Nov. 4, 2023 3,808,166 5.938
Nov. 8, 2025 5,094,071 5.787
Nov. 21, 2027 9,108,058 5.912
Dec. 6, 2029 16,242,927 7.236
Dec. 19, 2031 26,916,090 9.692
Oct. 8, 2150 28,451,198 11.139
Oct. 14, 2152 17,048,368 8.880
Oct. 23, 2154 7,993,577 7.115
Oct. 30, 2156 4,323,760 6.296
Nov. 1, 2158 4,028,089 6.176
Oct. 28, 2160 4,745,641 6.434
Oct. 21, 2162 10,372,171 7.566
Oct. 12, 2164 20,733,281 9.613

Images and Observations

2019 UH7's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 25, 2019. It was last officially observed on Oct. 31, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 39 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2019 UH7 can be reached with a journey of 370 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 11.486 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 32 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2019 UH7.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2019 UH7:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.588 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3684
  • Inclination: 6.28°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 32.49°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 22.26°
  • Mean Anomaly: 328.32°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.015 km
  • Magnitude: 27.46

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 731 days (2.00 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 23.63 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.17 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 1.00 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2019 UH7 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.