2019 UT6

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2019 UT6

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 20,917,885 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2019 UT6 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2019 UT6 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 UT6 orbits the sun every 734 days (2.01 years), coming as close as 0.79 AU and reaching as far as 2.40 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2019 UT6 is probably between 0.106 to 0.237 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

Close Approaches

2019 UT6'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 UT6 has 29 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Nov. 15, 2019 20,917,885 16.892
Nov. 20, 2021 10,051,464 14.678
Nov. 24, 2023 3,462,508 13.204
Nov. 25, 2025 2,387,828 12.587
Nov. 28, 2027 5,084,566 11.794
Dec. 3, 2029 10,925,258 10.635
Dec. 12, 2031 16,926,112 9.810
Dec. 25, 2033 22,814,898 9.816
Jan. 6, 2036 26,352,588 10.316
Jan. 17, 2038 28,754,102 10.801
Jan. 30, 2040 29,750,553 10.997
Feb. 11, 2042 29,182,986 10.803
Feb. 24, 2044 27,205,956 10.310
March 11, 2046 22,665,515 9.643
March 23, 2048 16,765,017 9.841
April 1, 2050 10,205,106 11.043
April 6, 2052 5,965,574 12.448
April 11, 2054 8,312,884 13.843
April 15, 2056 15,808,349 15.614
April 20, 2058 26,615,359 17.822
Nov. 17, 2182 22,392,316 17.184
Nov. 22, 2184 9,733,726 14.606
Nov. 29, 2186 2,483,150 12.430
Dec. 11, 2188 15,025,083 9.992
Jan. 3, 2191 24,833,470 10.073
Jan. 24, 2193 29,211,896 10.887
Feb. 13, 2195 29,091,124 10.767
March 4, 2197 25,175,153 9.953
March 27, 2199 16,520,168 9.860

Images and Observations

2019 UT6's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 5, 2019. It was last officially observed on Nov. 18, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 93 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 UT6:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.592 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.505
  • Inclination: 2.38°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 85.07°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 44.11°
  • Mean Anomaly: 302.23°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.137 km
  • Magnitude: 22.0

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 734 days (2.01 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 23.60 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.40 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.79 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2019 UT6 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 UT6 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.