506491 (2003 UW29)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 506491 (2003 UW29)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 17,371,881 km of Earth in 2025
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

506491 (2003 UW29) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2003 UW29 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2003 UW29 orbits the sun every 462 days (1.26 years), coming as close as 0.19 AU and reaching as far as 2.15 AU from the sun. Its orbit is highly elliptical. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2003 UW29 is probably between 0.186 to 0.417 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2003 UW29's orbit is 0.02 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.

2003 UW29 has 18 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Jan. 14, 2025 17,371,881 26.937
Oct. 23, 2027 13,072,865 27.371
Jan. 10, 2044 12,515,130 31.440
Oct. 30, 2051 15,207,322 32.980
Jan. 17, 2068 23,115,565 25.694
Oct. 25, 2070 7,048,030 28.598
Jan. 11, 2087 10,687,118 30.784
Oct. 30, 2094 15,221,922 32.975
Jan. 17, 2111 18,602,886 26.624
Oct. 24, 2113 12,533,441 27.499
Jan. 10, 2130 15,733,560 32.403
Oct. 29, 2137 7,917,748 31.389
Jan. 16, 2154 14,097,549 27.691
Oct. 24, 2156 17,176,264 26.615
Jan. 10, 2173 16,801,332 32.710
Oct. 29, 2180 8,025,286 31.405
Jan. 16, 2197 16,178,699 27.180
Oct. 25, 2199 14,664,998 27.104

Images and Observations

2003 UW29's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 29, 2000. It was last officially observed on Dec. 1, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 101 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 2003 UW29:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.169 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.8385
  • Inclination: 3.76°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 196.52°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 55.21°
  • Mean Anomaly: 304.33°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.241 km
  • Magnitude: 20.77

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 462 days (1.26 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 27.53 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.15 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.19 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 506491 (2003 UW29) 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 2003 UW29 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.