494658 (2000 UG11)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 494658 (2000 UG11)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 23,201,947 km of Earth in 2025
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

494658 (2000 UG11) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2000 UG11 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2000 UG11 orbits the sun every 979 days (2.68 years), coming as close as 0.83 AU and reaching as far as 3.03 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2000 UG11 is probably between 0.192 to 0.429 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

The rotation of 2000 UG11 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 4.44 hours.

Close Approaches

2000 UG11'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.

2000 UG11 has 7 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
March 12, 2025 23,201,947 15.642
Nov. 3, 2067 12,151,677 16.191
Nov. 20, 2075 12,932,450 11.621
March 4, 2092 19,846,695 12.526
Nov. 12, 2142 2,982,772 13.558
March 8, 2159 18,979,124 12.937
Nov. 2, 2193 17,862,677 17.178

Images and Observations

2000 UG11's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 21, 2000. It was last officially observed on May 14, 2017. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 433 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 2000 UG11:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.929 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5716
  • Inclination: 8.91°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 223.92°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 240.86°
  • Mean Anomaly: 175.18°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.247 km
  • Magnitude: 20.71

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 979 days (2.68 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 21.44 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 3.03 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.83 AU
  • Rotation Period: 4.44 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 494658 (2000 UG11) 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 2000 UG11 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.