613569 (2006 TU7)

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 613569 (2006 TU7)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 16,059,060 km of Earth in 2020
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

613569 (2006 TU7) is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2006 TU7 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2006 TU7 orbits the sun every 287 days (0.79 years), coming as close as 0.45 AU and reaching as far as 1.25 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2006 TU7 is probably between 0.110 to 0.247 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

Close Approaches

2006 TU7'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 TU7 has 34 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
July 23, 2020 16,059,060 10.339
Oct. 18, 2028 11,031,611 14.655
July 30, 2031 22,607,716 9.736
July 24, 2038 23,069,289 17.666
Oct. 13, 2046 19,981,178 9.900
July 21, 2049 4,944,367 13.662
Oct. 18, 2057 11,898,064 11.119
July 20, 2060 4,753,414 12.446
Oct. 19, 2068 7,051,517 12.726
July 23, 2071 13,267,490 10.728
Oct. 19, 2079 11,956,393 14.923
July 30, 2082 22,500,792 9.753
July 23, 2089 16,974,981 16.347
Oct. 15, 2097 18,290,723 10.081
July 22, 2100 5,001,715 13.601
Oct. 19, 2108 13,405,713 10.817
July 22, 2111 4,047,682 12.974
Oct. 19, 2119 14,354,835 10.641
July 22, 2122 5,497,017 13.756
Oct. 8, 2130 26,360,821 9.649
July 25, 2133 21,953,180 17.427
Oct. 16, 2134 27,288,642 18.456
Aug. 7, 2137 28,254,953 9.656
Oct. 19, 2145 14,919,862 15.657
July 28, 2148 20,623,630 9.861
Oct. 20, 2156 7,068,404 12.557
July 22, 2159 6,460,567 12.089
Oct. 17, 2167 17,972,191 10.125
July 23, 2170 9,418,789 14.727
Oct. 8, 2178 25,942,681 9.658
July 24, 2181 19,317,713 16.872
Oct. 16, 2182 29,584,406 18.961
Aug. 8, 2185 29,145,224 9.673
Oct. 20, 2193 10,124,919 14.491

Images and Observations

2006 TU7's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 9, 2002. It was last officially observed on Aug. 16, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 179 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 TU7:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.8513 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4703
  • Inclination: 2.95°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 91.36°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 69.22°
  • Mean Anomaly: 100.77°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.142 km
  • Magnitude: 21.91

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 287 days (0.79 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 32.27 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.25 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.45 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 613569 (2006 TU7) 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 TU7 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.