226514 (2003 UX34)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 226514 (2003 UX34)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 18,491,650 km of Earth in 2025
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

226514 (2003 UX34) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2003 UX34 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2003 UX34 orbits the sun every 419 days (1.15 years), coming as close as 0.42 AU and reaching as far as 1.77 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2003 UX34 is probably between 0.242 to 0.542 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 90% of asteroids but tiny compared to large asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2003 UX34's orbit is 0.02 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.

2003 UX34 has 20 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Jan. 7, 2025 18,491,650 16.549
Sept. 3, 2043 22,360,081 15.798
Sept. 9, 2051 7,633,364 21.508
Dec. 30, 2055 18,793,696 23.610
Jan. 8, 2064 18,704,852 16.525
Sept. 3, 2074 22,337,426 15.799
Sept. 11, 2082 12,361,862 22.476
Jan. 1, 2087 12,766,080 22.256
Jan. 9, 2095 25,307,817 15.235
Sept. 5, 2105 19,119,468 16.381
Sept. 12, 2113 14,820,557 23.001
Jan. 3, 2118 11,073,475 21.836
Jan. 10, 2126 26,538,350 15.008
Sept. 6, 2136 12,934,550 17.574
Sept. 15, 2144 22,311,012 24.527
Jan. 5, 2149 6,514,970 20.342
Sept. 8, 2167 7,951,562 18.535
Sept. 16, 2175 23,365,203 24.762
Jan. 6, 2180 6,321,108 20.189
Sept. 6, 2198 15,052,681 17.162

Images and Observations

2003 UX34's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 17, 1996. It was last officially observed on Nov. 17, 2019. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 303 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 2003 UX34:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.095 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.616
  • Inclination: 2.56°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 4.32°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 218.55°
  • Mean Anomaly: 257.14°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.313 km
  • Magnitude: 20.2

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 419 days (1.15 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 28.43 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.77 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.42 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 226514 (2003 UX34) 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 2003 UX34 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.