5189 (1990 UQ)

Small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 5189 (1990 UQ)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge
  • Will pass within 10,208,552 km of Earth in 2021
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

5189 (1990 UQ) is a small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 1990 UQ as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

1990 UQ orbits the sun every 706 days (1.93 years), coming as close as 0.81 AU and reaching as far as 2.29 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 1990 UQ is probably between 0.719 to 1.607 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.

The rotation of 1990 UQ has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 6.65 hours.

Close Approaches

1990 UQ's orbit is 0.04 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.

1990 UQ has 16 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
May 6, 2021 10,208,552 13.495
Oct. 1, 2046 16,318,756 15.677
July 30, 2048 29,910,806 10.934
May 14, 2050 12,051,300 11.279
Sept. 21, 2077 7,638,498 12.074
May 3, 2081 14,759,347 14.964
Sept. 27, 2106 7,887,368 13.504
May 7, 2110 11,271,200 13.942
Sept. 22, 2135 8,384,327 11.817
July 2, 2137 29,871,204 10.820
May 1, 2139 22,703,424 16.787
Oct. 6, 2162 21,655,648 16.798
Aug. 5, 2164 29,471,863 10.854
May 15, 2166 10,853,920 11.639
Sept. 30, 2191 9,947,647 14.155
May 11, 2195 9,439,429 12.895

Images and Observations

1990 UQ's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 20, 1990. It was last officially observed on May 4, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 1,585 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 1990 UQ:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.552 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.478
  • Inclination: 3.58°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 135.07°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 159.96°
  • Mean Anomaly: 53.64°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.928 km
  • Magnitude: 17.84

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 706 days (1.93 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 23.92 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.29 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.81 AU
  • Rotation Period: 6.65 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 5189 (1990 UQ) 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 1990 UQ 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.