438908 (2009 XO)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 438908 (2009 XO)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 3,393,663 km of Earth in 2020
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

438908 (2009 XO) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2009 XO as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2009 XO orbits the sun every 925 days (2.53 years), coming as close as 0.85 AU and reaching as far as 2.87 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2009 XO is probably between 0.199 to 0.445 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2009 XO's orbit is 0.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

2009 XO has 11 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
May 7, 2020 3,393,663 12.781
Jan. 4, 2048 24,124,043 17.013
March 14, 2053 21,361,593 10.119
May 20, 2058 25,193,107 17.228
Jan. 15, 2086 2,504,567 12.568
March 14, 2091 21,360,917 10.102
May 7, 2096 1,546,538 12.452
March 26, 2124 20,527,825 10.021
Jan. 24, 2152 5,594,529 11.101
May 15, 2157 11,287,597 14.400
Feb. 25, 2180 19,633,581 9.960

Images and Observations

2009 XO's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 9, 2009. It was last officially observed on July 12, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 840 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 2009 XO:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.858 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5437
  • Inclination: 0.35°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 27.9°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 140.59°
  • Mean Anomaly: 131.92°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.257 km
  • Magnitude: 20.63

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 925 days (2.53 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 21.85 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.87 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.85 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 438908 (2009 XO) 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 XO 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.