2023 CU is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2023 CU 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.
2023 CU orbits the sun every 371 days (1.02 years), coming as close as 0.84 AU and reaching as far as 1.18 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2023 CU is probably between 0.006 to 0.028 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.
2023 CU'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.
2023 CU has 22 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:
| Date | Distance from Earth (km) | Velocity (km/s) |
|---|---|---|
| June 30, 2019 | 18,406,992 | 3.294 |
| Sept. 21, 2019 | 17,380,280 | 3.750 |
| May 22, 2020 | 25,285,461 | 4.375 |
| Nov. 5, 2020 | 21,509,946 | 4.882 |
| April 22, 2021 | 25,352,133 | 4.416 |
| Dec. 19, 2021 | 17,732,130 | 3.949 |
| March 17, 2022 | 18,775,486 | 3.453 |
| Feb. 8, 2023 | 847,451 | 4.701 |
| Feb. 12, 2024 | 14,266,090 | 7.564 |
| Feb. 16, 2025 | 29,783,175 | 10.679 |
| July 24, 2075 | 25,486,222 | 9.662 |
| July 27, 2076 | 10,601,173 | 6.753 |
| Aug. 1, 2077 | 3,318,929 | 4.094 |
| June 26, 2078 | 18,302,349 | 3.265 |
| Sept. 17, 2078 | 17,431,749 | 3.735 |
| May 25, 2079 | 24,424,911 | 4.252 |
| Oct. 26, 2079 | 21,624,901 | 4.823 |
| April 27, 2080 | 25,462,099 | 4.446 |
| Nov. 28, 2080 | 20,382,293 | 4.565 |
| March 31, 2081 | 22,067,867 | 3.989 |
| Feb. 8, 2083 | 5,232,732 | 5.725 |
| Feb. 14, 2084 | 25,505,561 | 9.833 |
2023 CU's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Feb. 9, 2023. It was last officially observed on Feb. 15, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 103 observations used to determine its orbit.
2023 CU can be reached with a journey of 362 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 4.572 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 941,090 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.
See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2023 CU.
The position of 2023 CU 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.