526670 (2006 UL217)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 526670 (2006 UL217)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 26,675,776 km of Earth in 2030
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

526670 (2006 UL217) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2006 UL217 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2006 UL217 orbits the sun every 625 days (1.71 years), coming as close as 0.93 AU and reaching as far as 1.93 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2006 UL217 is probably between 0.188 to 0.421 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2006 UL217'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.

2006 UL217 has 10 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
July 22, 2030 26,675,776 8.876
Nov. 9, 2059 12,667,929 11.426
Oct. 29, 2071 5,951,488 8.595
Aug. 24, 2083 26,075,356 7.036
Nov. 8, 2112 9,392,968 10.827
Oct. 23, 2124 11,633,412 7.835
Aug. 18, 2136 26,220,015 7.017
Nov. 13, 2165 16,808,875 12.171
Oct. 27, 2177 8,490,293 8.206
Aug. 5, 2189 26,315,930 7.353

Images and Observations

2006 UL217's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 31, 2006. It was last officially observed on June 8, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 239 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 2006 UL217:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.43 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3486
  • Inclination: 9.92°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 45.18°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 310.13°
  • Mean Anomaly: 330.57°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.243 km
  • Magnitude: 20.75

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 625 days (1.71 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 24.89 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.93 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.93 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 526670 (2006 UL217) 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 2006 UL217 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.