481817 (2008 UL90)

Small Interior-Earth Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Interior-Earth Asteroids » 481817 (2008 UL90)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Interior-Earth Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge
  • Will pass within 12,108,206 km of Earth in 2027
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

481817 (2008 UL90) is a small asteroid with an orbit that is entirely confined within Earth's orbit. NASA JPL has classified 2008 UL90 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2008 UL90 orbits the sun every 212 days (0.58 years), coming as close as 0.43 AU and reaching as far as 0.96 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2008 UL90 is probably between 0.506 to 1.133 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than ~97% of asteroids but small compared to large asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge.

Close Approaches

2008 UL90's orbit is 0.03 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.

2008 UL90 has 23 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Dec. 12, 2027 12,108,206 13.651
Dec. 17, 2034 23,113,379 14.144
Dec. 11, 2038 20,655,246 14.645
Dec. 16, 2045 14,575,687 13.329
Dec. 11, 2049 29,462,167 15.974
Dec. 14, 2056 7,523,555 12.994
Dec. 14, 2067 4,280,745 12.982
Dec. 13, 2078 4,044,527 13.031
Dec. 13, 2089 6,057,955 13.181
Dec. 12, 2100 12,535,423 13.722
Dec. 19, 2107 22,803,135 14.071
Dec. 13, 2111 21,199,343 14.760
Dec. 17, 2118 14,322,923 13.288
Dec. 13, 2122 29,811,587 16.079
Dec. 15, 2129 7,286,538 12.981
Dec. 14, 2140 4,273,944 12.986
Dec. 15, 2151 4,150,250 13.048
Dec. 14, 2162 6,727,223 13.245
Dec. 19, 2169 29,868,389 14.964
Dec. 13, 2173 13,688,028 13.875
Dec. 18, 2180 21,472,863 13.885
Dec. 12, 2184 22,420,633 14.977
Dec. 17, 2191 13,075,635 13.189

Images and Observations

2008 UL90's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 26, 2008. It was last officially observed on Nov. 5, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 299 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 2008 UL90:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.695 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3798
  • Inclination: 24.31°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 81.13°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 183.65°
  • Mean Anomaly: 42.0°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.654 km
  • Magnitude: 18.6

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 212 days (0.58 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 35.66 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 0.96 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.43 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 481817 (2008 UL90) 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 above comparison is an artistic rendering that uses available data on the diameter of 2008 UL90 to create an approximate landscape rendering with Mount Everest in the background. This approximation is built for full-resolution desktop browsers. Shape, color, and texture of asteroid are imagined.