494999 (2010 JU39)

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 494999 (2010 JU39)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building
  • Will pass within 9,006,561 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

494999 (2010 JU39) is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2010 JU39 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2010 JU39 orbits the sun every 322 days (0.88 years), coming as close as 0.42 AU and reaching as far as 1.42 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2010 JU39 is probably between 0.308 to 0.689 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.

The rotation of 2010 JU39 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 30.20 hours.

Close Approaches

2010 JU39'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.

2010 JU39 has 16 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
June 28, 2019 9,006,561 21.795
June 25, 2034 7,181,312 24.084
June 20, 2049 28,031,320 27.524
June 28, 2056 10,704,170 21.554
June 25, 2071 7,084,667 24.083
June 20, 2086 29,861,607 27.821
June 28, 2093 8,053,847 21.898
June 25, 2108 10,284,287 24.560
July 1, 2115 27,679,971 19.637
June 29, 2130 6,750,387 22.081
June 26, 2145 9,448,922 24.418
July 1, 2152 29,266,270 19.504
June 21, 2160 29,118,187 27.680
June 30, 2167 10,201,861 21.603
June 27, 2182 6,100,229 23.912
June 21, 2197 28,299,983 27.521

Images and Observations

2010 JU39's orbit is determined by observations dating back to June 7, 2003. It was last officially observed on July 1, 2019. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 175 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 2010 JU39:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.9191 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5461
  • Inclination: 36.21°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 95.17°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 311.37°
  • Mean Anomaly: 206.72°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.398 km
  • Magnitude: 19.68

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 322 days (0.88 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 31.05 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.42 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.42 AU
  • Rotation Period: 30.20 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 494999 (2010 JU39) 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 2010 JU39 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.