154300 (2002 UO)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 154300 (2002 UO)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building
  • Will pass within 29,649,605 km of Earth in 2074
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

154300 (2002 UO) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2002 UO as a "Near Earth Asteroid" due to its orbit's proximity to Earth, but it is not considered potentially hazardous because computer simulations have not indicated any imminent likelihood of future collision.

2002 UO orbits the sun every 486 days (1.33 years), coming as close as 0.64 AU and reaching as far as 1.78 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2002 UO is probably between 0.355 to 0.794 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.

Close Approaches

2002 UO's orbit is 0.14 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 UO has 12 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
March 30, 2074 29,649,605 10.930
March 25, 2078 24,861,089 12.450
March 22, 2082 22,012,937 13.979
March 19, 2086 21,626,058 15.440
March 16, 2090 23,823,561 17.019
March 13, 2094 28,731,895 18.790
Oct. 13, 2119 26,505,007 18.187
Oct. 10, 2123 22,739,681 16.642
Oct. 8, 2127 21,144,026 15.231
Oct. 5, 2131 21,899,485 13.803
Oct. 3, 2135 24,486,424 12.477
Sept. 30, 2139 28,436,863 11.183

Images and Observations

2002 UO's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 20, 2001. It was last officially observed on Dec. 19, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 397 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 UO:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.209 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4724
  • Inclination: 8.29°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 90.66°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 184.23°
  • Mean Anomaly: 316.46°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.459 km
  • Magnitude: 19.37

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 486 days (1.33 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 27.06 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.78 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.64 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 154300 (2002 UO) 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 UO 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.