2019 UO9

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2019 UO9

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building
  • Will pass within 13,311,606 km of Earth in 2020
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2019 UO9 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2019 UO9 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2019 UO9 orbits the sun every 966 days (2.64 years), coming as close as 0.80 AU and reaching as far as 3.02 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2019 UO9 is probably between 0.294 to 0.658 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 90% of asteroids but tiny compared to large asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building.

Close Approaches

2019 UO9'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 UO9 has 12 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
May 3, 2020 13,311,606 16.049
March 6, 2028 28,269,134 12.040
Dec. 26, 2035 15,015,167 14.751
April 11, 2065 17,032,585 11.515
Jan. 23, 2073 23,946,036 11.208
May 2, 2102 8,709,546 14.726
Feb. 26, 2110 28,881,406 12.112
Dec. 28, 2117 14,681,043 14.525
April 26, 2147 10,242,719 12.813
Feb. 7, 2155 27,000,276 11.627
May 11, 2184 21,713,361 17.906
March 24, 2192 25,196,921 11.660

Images and Observations

2019 UO9's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Aug. 29, 2011. It was last officially observed on June 14, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 167 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 UO9:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.912 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5805
  • Inclination: 5.49°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 7.55°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 148.47°
  • Mean Anomaly: 112.83°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.380 km
  • Magnitude: 19.78

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 966 days (2.64 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 21.53 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 3.02 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.80 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2019 UO9 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 UO9 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.