310442 (2000 CH59)

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 310442 (2000 CH59)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building
  • Will pass within 7,291,525 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

310442 (2000 CH59) is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2000 CH59 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2000 CH59 orbits the sun every 293 days (0.80 years), coming as close as 0.50 AU and reaching as far as 1.23 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2000 CH59 is probably between 0.276 to 0.617 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 90% of asteroids but tiny compared to large asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building.

The rotation of 2000 CH59 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 6.05 hours.

Close Approaches

2000 CH59's orbit is 0.02 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.

2000 CH59 has 52 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Dec. 26, 2019 7,291,525 12.273
Dec. 26, 2023 9,317,843 13.559
Dec. 27, 2027 12,057,566 14.342
Dec. 28, 2031 16,715,527 15.498
March 27, 2033 26,326,439 17.891
Dec. 30, 2035 23,406,407 17.049
March 28, 2037 18,952,469 16.286
March 30, 2041 11,734,530 14.748
March 31, 2045 5,905,267 13.418
March 31, 2049 3,639,470 12.748
March 31, 2053 3,417,953 12.599
March 31, 2057 4,343,578 13.011
March 30, 2061 8,840,686 14.089
March 29, 2065 16,073,767 15.684
Dec. 30, 2067 23,076,621 16.930
March 27, 2069 23,998,729 17.373
Dec. 29, 2071 15,634,774 15.198
Dec. 28, 2075 9,924,031 13.628
Dec. 27, 2079 7,754,329 12.528
Dec. 27, 2083 8,185,020 11.788
Dec. 27, 2087 9,138,767 11.389
Dec. 27, 2091 9,310,002 11.322
Dec. 27, 2095 8,650,380 11.592
Dec. 27, 2099 8,014,368 11.929
Dec. 28, 2103 7,714,263 12.434
Dec. 28, 2107 8,493,925 13.110
Dec. 29, 2111 11,306,445 14.095
Dec. 30, 2115 15,962,081 15.304
March 28, 2117 26,897,087 18.057
Dec. 31, 2119 21,506,039 16.606
March 30, 2121 21,085,113 16.790
Jan. 1, 2124 26,864,255 17.813
March 31, 2125 15,982,151 15.712
March 31, 2129 13,708,313 15.201
March 31, 2133 14,864,299 15.461
Jan. 2, 2136 26,518,306 17.713
March 30, 2137 19,964,521 16.520
Dec. 31, 2139 19,876,404 16.201
March 28, 2141 27,048,710 18.058
Dec. 30, 2143 13,188,972 14.552
Dec. 29, 2147 8,536,090 13.075
Dec. 29, 2151 8,230,917 11.790
Dec. 30, 2155 11,956,878 10.596
Jan. 2, 2160 17,557,437 9.562
Jan. 7, 2164 23,121,244 9.111
Jan. 14, 2168 27,213,748 9.139
March 16, 2184 26,740,404 9.154
March 31, 2188 11,037,675 10.391
April 1, 2192 8,113,404 13.961
Jan. 1, 2195 23,194,829 16.900
March 28, 2196 27,754,749 18.177
Dec. 29, 2198 7,983,611 12.547

Images and Observations

2000 CH59's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Feb. 6, 2000. It was last officially observed on Feb. 11, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 454 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 2000 CH59:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.8627 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4232
  • Inclination: 3.26°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 213.6°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 109.57°
  • Mean Anomaly: 314.31°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.356 km
  • Magnitude: 19.92

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 293 days (0.80 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 32.03 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.23 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.50 AU
  • Rotation Period: 6.05 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 310442 (2000 CH59) 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 2000 CH59 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.