Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 15,012,685 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2021 UN7 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2021 UN7 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.

2021 UN7 orbits the sun every 365 days (1.00 years), coming as close as 0.61 AU and reaching as far as 1.39 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2021 UN7 is probably between 0.058 to 0.129 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2021 UN7's orbit is 0.10 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.

2021 UN7 has 22 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Oct. 31, 2019 15,012,685 16.032
Oct. 31, 2020 14,781,621 15.830
Oct. 31, 2021 14,644,262 15.649
Oct. 31, 2022 14,616,872 15.490
Oct. 31, 2023 14,690,700 15.305
Oct. 30, 2024 14,829,941 15.157
Oct. 31, 2025 15,028,143 15.014
Oct. 31, 2026 15,312,608 14.849
Oct. 31, 2027 15,662,944 14.723
Oct. 30, 2028 16,105,578 14.568
Oct. 31, 2029 16,650,431 14.406
Oct. 31, 2030 17,311,928 14.260
Oct. 31, 2031 18,100,195 14.075
Oct. 31, 2032 18,955,844 13.921
Oct. 31, 2033 19,911,266 13.762
Nov. 1, 2034 21,023,078 13.583
Nov. 1, 2035 22,206,555 13.442
Nov. 1, 2036 23,502,858 13.277
Nov. 2, 2037 24,899,700 13.127
Nov. 2, 2038 26,392,257 12.995
Nov. 3, 2039 28,012,132 12.848
Nov. 3, 2040 29,657,984 12.749

Images and Observations

2021 UN7's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 11, 2014. It was last officially observed on Nov. 27, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 100 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 2021 UN7:

References

Search

   or view a random object

Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.9992 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3934
  • Inclination: 20.29°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 49.92°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 227.23°
  • Mean Anomaly: 27.55°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.074 km
  • Magnitude: 23.32

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 365 days (1.00 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 29.78 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.39 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.61 AU

Map Comparison

Click to load map

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2021 UN7 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 2021 UN7 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.