2022 UF8

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2022 UF8

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 22,909,518 km of Earth in 2026
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2022 UF8 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2022 UF8 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 UF8 orbits the sun every 498 days (1.36 years), coming as close as 0.66 AU and reaching as far as 1.80 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2022 UF8 is probably between 0.178 to 0.398 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2022 UF8's orbit is 0.15 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.

2022 UF8 has 12 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Oct. 2, 2026 22,909,518 17.553
April 6, 2033 28,577,726 17.461
Sept. 30, 2041 29,552,635 15.362
March 27, 2048 25,666,783 19.094
Oct. 6, 2075 29,888,117 21.139
Oct. 3, 2090 22,485,872 18.195
Oct. 2, 2105 25,971,405 16.046
April 1, 2112 25,644,936 18.267
March 25, 2127 26,569,405 19.882
Oct. 6, 2169 26,214,154 20.255
Oct. 4, 2184 22,426,617 18.729
Oct. 4, 2199 22,006,157 17.478

Images and Observations

2022 UF8's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 20, 2022. It was last officially observed on Nov. 26, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 29 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 UF8:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.229 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4625
  • Inclination: 22.78°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 26.46°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 237.88°
  • Mean Anomaly: 322.99°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.230 km
  • Magnitude: 20.87

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 498 days (1.36 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 26.85 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.80 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.66 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2022 UF8 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 2022 UF8 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.