Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 19,660,200 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2022 UQ7 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2022 UQ7 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 UQ7 orbits the sun every 552 days (1.51 years), coming as close as 0.44 AU and reaching as far as 2.20 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2022 UQ7 is probably between 0.014 to 0.030 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2022 UQ7's orbit is 0.01 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

2022 UQ7 has 7 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Oct. 16, 2019 19,660,200 19.193
Oct. 22, 2022 789,104 22.978
Oct. 27, 2025 20,855,629 27.122
March 2, 2039 23,346,398 24.448
March 9, 2042 25,383,985 20.332
Oct. 16, 2084 20,416,201 19.062
Oct. 22, 2087 397,516 23.054

Images and Observations

2022 UQ7's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 22, 2022. It was last officially observed on Oct. 26, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 45 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 UQ7:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.317 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.6678
  • Inclination: 11.77°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 209.65°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 64.92°
  • Mean Anomaly: 245.62°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.017 km
  • Magnitude: 26.47

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 552 days (1.51 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 25.96 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.20 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.44 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2022 UQ7 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.