2019 UK

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 2019 UK

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 22,905,987 km of Earth in 2024
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2019 UK is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2019 UK as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2019 UK orbits the sun every 303 days (0.83 years), coming as close as 0.54 AU and reaching as far as 1.22 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2019 UK is probably between 0.127 to 0.284 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

Close Approaches

2019 UK's orbit is 0.04 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 UK has 17 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Oct. 19, 2024 22,905,987 12.444
Oct. 24, 2029 7,945,161 13.965
Oct. 23, 2034 15,674,174 16.600
Oct. 16, 2058 29,032,699 12.235
Oct. 23, 2063 13,516,135 13.173
Oct. 24, 2068 8,888,448 15.307
Oct. 22, 2073 26,659,138 18.594
Oct. 21, 2097 18,456,913 12.720
Oct. 25, 2102 6,878,134 14.574
Oct. 24, 2107 21,394,205 17.608
Oct. 22, 2131 21,930,961 12.508
Oct. 25, 2136 7,442,836 14.139
Oct. 24, 2141 17,187,702 16.861
Oct. 18, 2165 27,330,478 12.266
Oct. 25, 2170 11,575,267 13.389
Oct. 26, 2175 10,890,370 15.664
Oct. 22, 2180 28,883,774 18.968

Images and Observations

2019 UK's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 13, 2019. It was last officially observed on Nov. 18, 2019. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 29 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 UK:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.8828 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3842
  • Inclination: 21.7°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 206.39°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 318.86°
  • Mean Anomaly: 128.98°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.164 km
  • Magnitude: 21.6

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 303 days (0.83 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 31.70 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.22 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.54 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2019 UK 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 UK 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.