Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 464,332 km of Earth in 2022
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2022 TU1 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2022 TU1 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.

2022 TU1 orbits the sun every 549 days (1.50 years), coming as close as 0.72 AU and reaching as far as 1.90 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2022 TU1 is probably between 0.007 to 0.016 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2022 TU1's orbit is 0.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

2022 TU1 has 6 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Oct. 5, 2022 464,332 14.132
Oct. 8, 2025 6,459,124 12.905
Oct. 12, 2028 15,537,947 11.360
March 19, 2062 12,097,469 12.123
March 22, 2065 6,169,829 13.599
Oct. 7, 2144 972,121 14.007

Images and Observations

2022 TU1's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 4, 2022. It was last officially observed on Oct. 5, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 117 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 2022 TU1:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.312 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4495
  • Inclination: 12.01°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 191.76°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 264.67°
  • Mean Anomaly: 188.04°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.009 km
  • Magnitude: 27.79

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 549 days (1.50 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 26.00 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.90 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.72 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2022 TU1 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.