Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 890,608 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2019 OX3 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2019 OX3 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.

2019 OX3 orbits the sun every 655 days (1.79 years), coming as close as 0.90 AU and reaching as far as 2.06 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2019 OX3 is probably between 0.007 to 0.016 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2019 OX3'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.

2019 OX3 has 2 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
July 30, 2019 890,608 13.278
July 8, 2062 27,681,674 10.727

Images and Observations

2019 OX3's orbit is determined by observations dating back to July 30, 2019. It was last officially observed on July 31, 2019. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 18 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 2019 OX3:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2458695.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.476 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3926
  • Inclination: 17.47°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 127.19°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 124.09°
  • Mean Anomaly: 24.67°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.009 km
  • Magnitude: 27.8

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 655 days (1.79 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 24.52 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.06 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.90 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2019 OX3 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.