86039 (1999 NC43)

Mid-sized Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 86039 (1999 NC43)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to Mount Everest (2.22 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 23,882,469 km of Earth in 2109
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

86039 (1999 NC43) is a mid-sized asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 1999 NC43 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

1999 NC43 orbits the sun every 853 days (2.34 years), coming as close as 0.74 AU and reaching as far as 2.78 AU from the sun. 1999 NC43 is about 2.2 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to Mount Everest.

The rotation of 1999 NC43 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 122.20 hours.

1999 NC43's spectral type None (Tholen) / Q (SMASSII) indicates that it is likely to contain .

Close Approaches

1999 NC43's orbit is 0.03 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.

1999 NC43 has 6 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Sept. 14, 2109 23,882,469 19.074
Sept. 18, 2116 16,805,335 17.019
Sept. 23, 2123 14,412,991 14.952
Sept. 30, 2130 19,196,831 12.784
Jan. 31, 2166 18,324,493 12.339
Feb. 14, 2173 5,028,517 15.776

Images and Observations

1999 NC43's orbit is determined by observations dating back to June 11, 1999. It was last officially observed on June 9, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 1,585 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 1999 NC43:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.76 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5788
  • Inclination: 7.13°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 311.65°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 120.77°
  • Mean Anomaly: 48.53°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 2.22000 km
  • Magnitude: 15.97
  • Albedo: 0.14
  • Spectral type (SMASS): Q

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 853 days (2.34 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 22.45 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.78 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.74 AU
  • Rotation Period: 122.20 hours
  • Approx. Composition: .

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 86039 (1999 NC43) 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 1999 NC43 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.