301844 (1990 UA)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 301844 (1990 UA)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building (0.40 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 13,984,899 km of Earth in 2028
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

301844 (1990 UA) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 1990 UA as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

1990 UA orbits the sun every 769 days (2.11 years), coming as close as 0.78 AU and reaching as far as 2.51 AU from the sun. 1990 UA is about 0.4 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 90% of asteroids but tiny compared to large asteroids, comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building.

Close Approaches

1990 UA's orbit is 0.01 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.

1990 UA has 17 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
May 10, 2028 13,984,899 16.916
May 22, 2049 8,763,286 12.555
Sept. 21, 2051 20,558,691 10.714
June 23, 2070 28,933,133 11.017
Oct. 10, 2072 2,891,291 14.484
May 20, 2089 4,370,097 13.392
Sept. 24, 2091 18,899,559 10.880
May 31, 2108 16,072,502 11.273
Oct. 8, 2110 5,062,946 13.314
June 4, 2127 18,517,235 10.941
Oct. 8, 2129 5,629,345 13.172
May 20, 2146 2,021,388 13.989
Sept. 20, 2148 21,424,139 10.664
May 22, 2165 4,984,912 13.273
Sept. 28, 2167 16,959,519 11.118
June 18, 2184 26,471,971 10.746
Oct. 16, 2186 9,533,273 16.032

Images and Observations

1990 UA's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 16, 1990. It was last officially observed on Nov. 18, 2011. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 185 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 1990 UA:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.642 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.526
  • Inclination: 0.93°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 104.27°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 202.59°
  • Mean Anomaly: 260.2°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 0.40000 km
  • Magnitude: 19.71

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 769 days (2.11 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 23.23 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.51 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.78 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 301844 (1990 UA) 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 1990 UA 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.