Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 22,332,703 km of Earth in 2024
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2009 KY1 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2009 KY1 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.

2009 KY1 orbits the sun every 449 days (1.23 years), coming as close as 0.93 AU and reaching as far as 1.36 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2009 KY1 is probably between 0.032 to 0.142 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2009 KY1's orbit is 0.04 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.

2009 KY1 has 4 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Dec. 6, 2024 22,332,703 5.545
May 4, 2025 19,121,396 4.938
Dec. 18, 2040 17,896,555 7.893
May 8, 2052 5,622,180 6.613

Images and Observations

2009 KY1's orbit is determined by observations dating back to May 18, 2009. It was last officially observed on June 14, 2009. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 90 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2009 KY1 can be reached with a journey of 370 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 8.37 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 7,112 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2009 KY1.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2009 KY1:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.147 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1894
  • Inclination: 9.37°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 236.87°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 281.62°
  • Mean Anomaly: 291.68°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.087 km
  • Magnitude: 23.7

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 449 days (1.23 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 27.79 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.36 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.93 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2009 KY1 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 2009 KY1 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.