2016 JU33

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2016 JU33

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field (0.17 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 20,747,773 km of Earth in 2021
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2016 JU33 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2016 JU33 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2016 JU33 orbits the sun every 903 days (2.47 years), coming as close as 0.85 AU and reaching as far as 2.80 AU from the sun. 2016 JU33 is about 0.2 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2016 JU33's orbit is 0.01 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

2016 JU33 has 14 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Feb. 15, 2021 20,747,773 9.975
Dec. 25, 2025 21,479,613 16.293
April 29, 2058 12,812,706 13.509
Feb. 19, 2063 21,176,094 10.009
Dec. 26, 2067 19,191,062 15.876
May 3, 2100 17,050,717 14.595
Feb. 27, 2105 21,714,163 10.030
Dec. 28, 2109 17,356,012 15.444
May 4, 2142 16,446,702 14.524
March 4, 2147 21,849,332 9.993
Jan. 1, 2152 11,830,211 14.399
May 2, 2184 13,642,410 13.808
Feb. 26, 2189 21,726,514 10.032
Dec. 28, 2193 19,395,206 15.947

Images and Observations

2016 JU33's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 1, 2015. It was last officially observed on June 17, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 194 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 2016 JU33:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.828 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5334
  • Inclination: 3.88°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 293.11°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 223.91°
  • Mean Anomaly: 11.22°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 0.17400 km
  • Magnitude: 20.95
  • Albedo: 0.304

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 903 days (2.47 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 22.02 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.80 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.85 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2016 JU33 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 2016 JU33 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.