2020 UF2

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2020 UF2

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 27,483,917 km of Earth in 2020
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2020 UF2 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2020 UF2 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2020 UF2 orbits the sun every 439 days (1.20 years), coming as close as 0.78 AU and reaching as far as 1.48 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2020 UF2 is probably between 0.078 to 0.351 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2020 UF2'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.

2020 UF2 has 25 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Sept. 28, 2020 27,483,917 14.786
March 17, 2025 27,085,178 14.779
March 18, 2031 23,692,029 14.084
March 19, 2037 21,086,888 13.530
March 20, 2043 19,596,735 13.211
March 20, 2049 19,460,725 13.197
March 20, 2055 20,690,627 13.462
March 18, 2061 23,894,328 14.127
March 18, 2067 27,849,663 14.931
Sept. 29, 2068 28,077,241 14.917
Sept. 29, 2074 24,751,478 14.239
Sept. 28, 2080 22,541,468 13.770
Sept. 28, 2086 21,329,463 13.505
Sept. 27, 2092 21,098,560 13.461
Sept. 28, 2098 22,759,661 13.825
Sept. 30, 2104 24,339,535 14.152
Oct. 1, 2110 26,611,171 14.605
March 19, 2115 28,495,022 15.085
Oct. 1, 2116 29,027,262 15.099
March 23, 2145 18,392,042 12.992
March 23, 2151 20,152,661 13.349
March 21, 2157 24,479,050 14.245
Sept. 30, 2182 20,107,858 13.285
Sept. 30, 2188 20,584,611 13.385
Oct. 1, 2194 22,030,701 13.683

Images and Observations

2020 UF2's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 18, 2020. It was last officially observed on Nov. 18, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 54 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2020 UF2 can be reached with a journey of 410 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 10.245 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 451 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2020 UF2.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2020 UF2:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.13 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3057
  • Inclination: 3.07°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 235.61°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 34.39°
  • Mean Anomaly: 217.7°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.215 km
  • Magnitude: 21.73

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 439 days (1.20 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 28.00 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.48 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.78 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2020 UF2 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 2020 UF2 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.