437844 (1999 MN)

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 437844 (1999 MN)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 15,606,011 km of Earth in 2020
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

437844 (1999 MN) is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 1999 MN as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

1999 MN orbits the sun every 202 days (0.55 years), coming as close as 0.23 AU and reaching as far as 1.12 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 1999 MN is probably between 0.154 to 0.344 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

The rotation of 1999 MN has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 5.50 hours.

Close Approaches

1999 MN's orbit is 0.01 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

1999 MN has 56 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
June 25, 2020 15,606,011 13.093
July 5, 2025 10,681,820 13.584
June 3, 2026 24,168,699 20.579
July 11, 2030 2,519,411 15.341
June 2, 2031 8,938,103 17.132
July 12, 2035 15,000,638 18.457
June 3, 2036 4,749,960 14.428
June 14, 2041 14,286,421 13.167
June 27, 2046 15,172,499 13.121
July 9, 2051 5,929,876 14.313
June 1, 2052 15,528,140 18.599
July 12, 2056 11,441,310 17.656
June 3, 2057 2,385,752 14.861
June 16, 2062 14,713,886 13.136
July 3, 2067 12,568,048 13.355
June 3, 2068 26,992,855 21.245
July 11, 2072 3,898,376 15.914
June 2, 2073 4,682,275 16.210
July 10, 2077 25,726,487 20.956
June 10, 2078 11,925,455 13.408
June 28, 2083 14,934,991 13.117
July 10, 2088 3,559,493 14.807
June 1, 2089 11,321,134 17.639
July 12, 2093 16,810,260 18.878
June 5, 2094 6,598,479 14.102
June 21, 2099 15,607,978 13.079
July 7, 2104 9,505,363 13.719
June 3, 2105 20,796,803 19.783
July 13, 2109 9,013,850 17.090
June 4, 2110 1,015,691 15.139
June 21, 2115 15,377,883 13.101
July 9, 2120 6,735,048 14.162
June 3, 2121 15,143,397 18.495
July 13, 2125 18,407,074 19.230
June 8, 2126 8,411,534 13.825
June 30, 2131 14,398,684 13.170
July 13, 2136 7,133,213 16.636
June 4, 2137 825,579 15.211
June 25, 2142 15,340,141 13.104
July 13, 2147 5,462,374 16.215
June 3, 2148 1,265,460 15.454
June 23, 2153 15,448,084 13.087
July 13, 2158 2,964,543 15.345
June 4, 2159 5,705,035 16.385
June 19, 2164 15,065,331 13.107
July 12, 2169 3,773,088 14.804
June 3, 2170 9,181,572 17.139
June 16, 2175 13,968,619 13.188
July 9, 2180 7,283,132 14.063
June 3, 2181 14,977,934 18.432
July 12, 2185 23,894,207 20.479
June 12, 2186 11,731,993 13.397
July 7, 2191 10,488,827 13.571
June 4, 2192 20,653,901 19.730
July 13, 2196 18,724,794 19.273
June 9, 2197 9,077,694 13.717

Images and Observations

1999 MN's orbit is determined by observations dating back to June 22, 1999. It was last officially observed on July 11, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 165 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 1999 MN:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.674 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.6653
  • Inclination: 2.03°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 81.42°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 9.18°
  • Mean Anomaly: 122.54°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.198 km
  • Magnitude: 21.19

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 202 days (0.55 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 36.30 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.12 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.23 AU
  • Rotation Period: 5.50 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 437844 (1999 MN) 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 1999 MN 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.