Yeungkwongyu

40776 Yeungkwongyu (1999 TA21)

Space Reference » Main-belt Asteroids » Yeungkwongyu

Key Facts

Overview

Yeungkwongyu is a mid-sized asteroid orbiting between Mars and Jupiter in the main portion of the asteroid belt. NASA JPL has not classified Yeungkwongyu as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.

Yeungkwongyu orbits the sun every 1,840 days (5.04 years), coming as close as 2.71 AU and reaching as far as 3.17 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, Yeungkwongyu is probably between 3.619 to 8.092 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the San Francisco Bay.

The rotation of Yeungkwongyu has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 3.10 hours.

No Close Approaches

Yeungkwongyu's orbit is 1.73 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is an extremely wide berth between this asteroid and Earth at all times.

Orbital simulations conducted by NASA JPL's CNEOS do not show any close approaches to Earth.

Images and Observations

Yeungkwongyu's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Feb. 20, 1991. It was last officially observed on June 2, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 1,905 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 Yeungkwongyu:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 2.94 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.0776
  • Inclination: 3.28°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 344.65°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 95.34°
  • Mean Anomaly: 218.92°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~4.672 km
  • Magnitude: 14.33

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 1,840 days (5.04 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 17.38 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 3.17 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 2.71 AU
  • Rotation Period: 3.10 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of Yeungkwongyu 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 Yeungkwongyu 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.