477465 (2009 XZ1)

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 477465 (2009 XZ1)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 20,385,173 km of Earth in 2031
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

477465 (2009 XZ1) is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2009 XZ1 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2009 XZ1 orbits the sun every 289 days (0.79 years), coming as close as 0.40 AU and reaching as far as 1.31 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2009 XZ1 is probably between 0.121 to 0.270 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

Close Approaches

2009 XZ1's orbit is 0.04 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.

2009 XZ1 has 28 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Oct. 6, 2031 20,385,173 16.618
Dec. 30, 2032 7,361,120 15.382
Oct. 6, 2050 22,049,652 17.758
Dec. 31, 2051 11,220,112 14.387
Dec. 27, 2055 25,558,606 21.223
Oct. 7, 2069 23,287,057 18.317
Dec. 30, 2070 12,897,696 14.053
Dec. 27, 2074 26,389,178 21.392
Oct. 5, 2088 19,908,419 15.797
Dec. 30, 2089 6,881,538 16.509
Oct. 8, 2103 22,258,015 17.928
Dec. 31, 2104 9,701,425 14.706
Oct. 9, 2118 26,296,546 19.433
Dec. 31, 2119 15,508,775 13.587
Dec. 27, 2123 29,213,532 21.997
Dec. 28, 2134 22,944,021 12.607
Oct. 8, 2137 24,943,997 13.108
Dec. 29, 2138 19,745,749 19.896
Oct. 6, 2152 19,953,398 15.392
Dec. 31, 2153 7,924,329 16.905
Oct. 10, 2167 26,734,538 19.606
Dec. 30, 2168 17,611,650 13.273
Oct. 9, 2171 26,594,036 12.763
Dec. 29, 2172 20,807,180 20.123
Oct. 9, 2186 25,899,621 19.346
Dec. 31, 2187 17,710,286 13.268
Oct. 9, 2190 25,485,150 13.000
Dec. 30, 2191 18,164,129 19.521

Images and Observations

2009 XZ1's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 10, 2001. It was last officially observed on Dec. 6, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 177 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 2009 XZ1:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.8557 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5339
  • Inclination: 8.16°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 81.98°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 152.99°
  • Mean Anomaly: 11.49°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.156 km
  • Magnitude: 21.71

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 289 days (0.79 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 32.21 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.31 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.40 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 477465 (2009 XZ1) 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 2009 XZ1 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.