Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 19,135,160 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

339714 (2005 ST1) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2005 ST1 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.

2005 ST1 orbits the sun every 639 days (1.75 years), coming as close as 0.91 AU and reaching as far as 1.99 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2005 ST1 is probably between 0.225 to 0.504 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

The rotation of 2005 ST1 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 8.68 hours.

Close Approaches

2005 ST1's orbit is 0.13 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.

2005 ST1 has 9 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Oct. 14, 2019 19,135,160 13.473
Oct. 13, 2026 20,334,855 14.277
Oct. 11, 2033 24,391,371 15.401
Oct. 17, 2150 28,444,972 11.413
Oct. 16, 2157 24,082,563 11.971
Oct. 16, 2164 21,139,701 12.614
Oct. 15, 2171 19,892,664 13.368
Oct. 14, 2178 21,106,451 14.311
Oct. 12, 2185 25,819,496 15.606

Images and Observations

2005 ST1's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 2, 1991. It was last officially observed on April 24, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 500 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 2005 ST1:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.451 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3709
  • Inclination: 20.23°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 7.56°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 80.67°
  • Mean Anomaly: 53.69°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.291 km
  • Magnitude: 20.36

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 639 days (1.75 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 24.70 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.99 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.91 AU
  • Rotation Period: 8.68 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 339714 (2005 ST1) 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 2005 ST1 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.