Moshup

66391 Moshup (1999 KW4)

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » Moshup

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Pentagon (1.32 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 5,182,081 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

Moshup is a mid-sized asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified Moshup as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

Moshup orbits the sun every 188 days (0.51 years), coming as close as 0.20 AU and reaching as far as 1.08 AU from the sun. Moshup is about 1.3 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the U.S. Pentagon.

The rotation of Moshup has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 2.76 hours.

Close Approaches

Moshup'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.

Moshup has 40 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
May 25, 2019 5,182,081 21.513
May 26, 2020 23,910,458 24.631
June 2, 2034 29,416,541 19.876
May 29, 2035 16,789,585 19.679
May 25, 2036 2,323,316 20.798
May 26, 2037 16,830,030 23.351
May 30, 2052 23,696,731 19.655
May 27, 2053 10,146,693 20.008
May 25, 2054 6,834,880 21.760
May 27, 2055 25,698,103 24.982
June 2, 2069 29,611,729 19.883
May 29, 2070 17,120,824 19.667
May 26, 2071 2,621,574 20.740
May 26, 2072 16,028,404 23.233
June 1, 2087 25,950,925 19.716
May 27, 2088 12,948,601 19.844
May 25, 2089 3,566,942 21.299
May 27, 2090 21,775,447 24.256
May 31, 2105 20,202,266 19.614
May 27, 2106 5,897,876 20.363
May 27, 2107 11,820,867 22.557
June 3, 2122 27,498,878 19.773
May 30, 2123 14,665,501 19.767
May 26, 2124 2,109,451 21.071
May 27, 2125 19,737,713 23.890
May 31, 2140 20,128,085 19.611
May 27, 2141 5,627,090 20.387
May 27, 2142 12,318,465 22.648
June 2, 2157 26,061,657 19.703
May 29, 2158 12,793,242 19.865
May 27, 2159 3,915,686 21.381
May 28, 2160 22,563,178 24.411
June 4, 2174 29,874,387 19.889
May 30, 2175 17,209,246 19.666
May 27, 2176 2,386,168 20.762
May 27, 2177 16,468,296 23.346
June 1, 2192 24,132,991 19.639
May 28, 2193 10,492,714 20.008
May 27, 2194 6,449,783 21.762
May 29, 2195 25,407,665 24.955

Images and Observations

Moshup's orbit is determined by observations dating back to May 29, 1998. It was last officially observed on Aug. 6, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 3,771 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 Moshup:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.6424 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.6884
  • Inclination: 38.88°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 244.9°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 192.65°
  • Mean Anomaly: 251.17°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 1.31700 km
  • Magnitude: 16.64
  • Spectral type (SMASS): S:

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 188 days (0.51 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 37.17 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.08 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.20 AU
  • Rotation Period: 2.76 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of Moshup 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 above comparison is an artistic rendering that uses available data on the diameter of Moshup to create an approximate landscape rendering with Mount Everest in the background. This approximation is built for full-resolution desktop browsers. Shape, color, and texture of asteroid are imagined.