439877 (1999 XM141)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 439877 (1999 XM141)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building
  • Will pass within 29,630,515 km of Earth in 2021
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

439877 (1999 XM141) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 1999 XM141 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

1999 XM141 orbits the sun every 502 days (1.37 years), coming as close as 0.78 AU and reaching as far as 1.69 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 1999 XM141 is probably between 0.307 to 0.686 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.

Close Approaches

1999 XM141's orbit is 0.03 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.

1999 XM141 has 9 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Dec. 15, 2021 29,630,515 18.351
May 25, 2026 26,018,831 12.697
June 17, 2096 29,093,480 19.465
June 17, 2107 23,327,668 18.542
Dec. 20, 2113 29,700,226 12.773
June 15, 2118 19,712,522 17.974
Dec. 20, 2124 29,234,243 12.829
June 16, 2129 20,703,129 18.133
June 17, 2140 24,205,155 18.690

Images and Observations

1999 XM141's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 13, 1999. It was last officially observed on Aug. 4, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 201 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 XM141:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.236 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3693
  • Inclination: 21.62°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 72.98°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 105.8°
  • Mean Anomaly: 50.92°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.396 km
  • Magnitude: 19.69

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 502 days (1.37 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 26.79 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.69 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.78 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 439877 (1999 XM141) 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 XM141 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.