374158 (2004 UL)

Small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 374158 (2004 UL)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge
  • Will pass within 22,365,715 km of Earth in 2024
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

374158 (2004 UL) is a small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2004 UL as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2004 UL orbits the sun every 520 days (1.42 years), coming as close as 0.09 AU and reaching as far as 2.44 AU from the sun. Its orbit is highly elliptical. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2004 UL is probably between 0.481 to 1.077 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than ~97% of asteroids but small compared to large asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge.

The rotation of 2004 UL has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 38.00 hours.

Close Approaches

2004 UL'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.

2004 UL has 11 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Nov. 4, 2024 22,365,715 31.447
Oct. 31, 2034 3,977,651 34.990
Oct. 27, 2044 11,968,033 37.916
Oct. 23, 2054 27,641,762 41.276
Nov. 6, 2091 27,043,182 30.636
Nov. 4, 2101 11,710,127 33.338
Oct. 31, 2111 3,492,469 36.192
Oct. 25, 2121 23,446,938 40.346
Nov. 6, 2158 17,766,218 32.214
Nov. 1, 2168 1,247,063 35.749
Nov. 8, 2195 26,528,231 30.690

Images and Observations

2004 UL's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 18, 2001. It was last officially observed on Sept. 22, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 260 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 2004 UL:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.266 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.9267
  • Inclination: 23.86°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 39.46°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 149.69°
  • Mean Anomaly: 42.37°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.622 km
  • Magnitude: 18.71

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 520 days (1.42 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 26.49 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.44 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.09 AU
  • Rotation Period: 38.00 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 374158 (2004 UL) 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 2004 UL 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.