Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 7,364,715 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2019 UO5 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2019 UO5 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 UO5 orbits the sun every 320 days (0.88 years), coming as close as 0.79 AU and reaching as far as 1.05 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2019 UO5 is probably between 0.020 to 0.045 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2019 UO5's orbit is 0.05 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 UO5 has 12 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Oct. 26, 2019 7,364,715 10.507
Oct. 22, 2026 16,659,173 10.874
Oct. 30, 2055 17,157,573 11.010
Oct. 25, 2062 7,713,684 10.503
Oct. 19, 2069 22,839,613 11.306
Oct. 31, 2091 20,296,160 11.242
Oct. 27, 2098 8,279,109 10.544
Oct. 24, 2105 11,441,992 10.613
Oct. 20, 2112 24,898,291 11.485
Oct. 31, 2134 20,109,908 11.218
Oct. 26, 2141 7,515,374 10.506
Oct. 21, 2148 20,428,866 11.129

Images and Observations

2019 UO5's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 19, 2019. It was last officially observed on Oct. 31, 2019. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 25 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 UO5:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.9165 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1406
  • Inclination: 20.41°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 32.17°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 171.89°
  • Mean Anomaly: 343.46°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.026 km
  • Magnitude: 25.6

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 320 days (0.88 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 31.16 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.05 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.79 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2019 UO5 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.