Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Pentagon
  • Will pass within 24,772,663 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

22771 (1999 CU3) is a mid-sized asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 1999 CU3 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.

1999 CU3 orbits the sun every 723 days (1.98 years), coming as close as 0.75 AU and reaching as far as 2.40 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 1999 CU3 is probably between 1.078 to 2.410 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the U.S. Pentagon.

The rotation of 1999 CU3 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 3.78 hours.

1999 CU3's spectral type None (Tholen) / Sl (SMASSII) indicates that it is likely to contain and .

Close Approaches

1999 CU3's orbit is 0.06 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.

1999 CU3 has 9 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
April 12, 2019 24,772,663 17.313
Sept. 26, 2098 17,157,429 18.242
Sept. 17, 2100 10,709,282 14.998
Sept. 3, 2102 23,320,271 12.701
April 21, 2114 24,491,161 13.884
April 13, 2116 26,056,713 17.575
Sept. 26, 2193 15,652,018 17.762
Sept. 16, 2195 12,447,230 14.526
Aug. 30, 2197 25,861,771 12.595

Images and Observations

1999 CU3's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Feb. 10, 1999. It was last officially observed on May 3, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 2,566 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 1999 CU3:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.576 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5239
  • Inclination: 11.4°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 338.95°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 305.81°
  • Mean Anomaly: 57.67°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~1.391 km
  • Magnitude: 16.96
  • Spectral type (SMASS): Sl

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 723 days (1.98 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 23.71 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.40 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.75 AU
  • Rotation Period: 3.78 hours
  • Approx. Composition: and .

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 22771 (1999 CU3) 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 above comparison is an artistic rendering that uses available data on the diameter of 1999 CU3 to create an approximate landscape rendering with Mount Everest in the background. This approximation is built for full-resolution desktop browsers. Shape, color, and texture of asteroid are imagined.