612509 (2002 UK11)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 612509 (2002 UK11)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 12,688,338 km of Earth in 2021
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

612509 (2002 UK11) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2002 UK11 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2002 UK11 orbits the sun every 556 days (1.52 years), coming as close as 0.56 AU and reaching as far as 2.09 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2002 UK11 is probably between 0.111 to 0.249 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

The rotation of 2002 UK11 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 8.00 hours.

Close Approaches

2002 UK11's orbit is 0.01 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.

2002 UK11 has 15 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
June 11, 2021 12,688,338 20.286
Nov. 13, 2034 9,289,610 19.534
June 2, 2050 13,963,620 15.172
Nov. 8, 2063 25,691,002 22.940
Nov. 25, 2066 22,628,436 13.403
June 7, 2082 2,017,651 17.888
Nov. 9, 2095 22,998,601 22.369
Nov. 25, 2098 22,481,632 13.433
June 14, 2114 15,881,413 20.905
Nov. 21, 2127 8,836,493 16.230
June 14, 2143 15,486,701 20.823
Nov. 10, 2153 23,775,376 22.562
June 8, 2169 3,202,802 17.407
Nov. 18, 2182 3,552,293 18.175
June 2, 2198 20,474,334 13.891

Images and Observations

2002 UK11's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 28, 2002. It was last officially observed on June 28, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 86 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 2002 UK11:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.324 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5754
  • Inclination: 5.37°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 69.19°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 84.54°
  • Mean Anomaly: 208.39°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.144 km
  • Magnitude: 21.89

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 556 days (1.52 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 25.91 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.09 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.56 AU
  • Rotation Period: 8.00 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 612509 (2002 UK11) 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 2002 UK11 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.