Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building
  • Will pass within 4,735,346 km of Earth in 2034
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

89136 (2001 US16) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2001 US16 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2001 US16 orbits the sun every 577 days (1.58 years), coming as close as 1.01 AU and reaching as far as 1.70 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2001 US16 is probably between 0.153 to 0.684 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 90% of asteroids but tiny compared to large asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building.

The rotation of 2001 US16 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 14.39 hours.

Close Approaches

2001 US16'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.

2001 US16 has 9 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
May 3, 2034 4,735,346 4.432
June 22, 2045 6,335,173 4.626
May 18, 2075 4,463,538 3.817
April 21, 2105 13,116,411 6.604
June 22, 2116 5,916,395 4.510
April 16, 2135 22,627,960 8.633
July 7, 2146 13,903,450 6.673
May 13, 2165 4,494,042 4.010
May 17, 2195 4,500,872 3.910

Images and Observations

2001 US16's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 18, 2001. It was last officially observed on July 28, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 1,302 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2001 US16 can be reached with a journey of 402 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 9.254 km/s. To put this into perspective, the delta-v to launch a rocket to Low-Earth Orbit is 9.7 km/s. There are 28,990 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2001 US16.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2001 US16:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.356 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.2528
  • Inclination: 1.91°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 175.91°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 67.14°
  • Mean Anomaly: 82.94°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.419 km
  • Magnitude: 20.28

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 577 days (1.58 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 25.57 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.70 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 1.01 AU
  • Rotation Period: 14.39 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 89136 (2001 US16) 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 2001 US16 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.