5590 (1990 VA)

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 5590 (1990 VA)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building
  • Will pass within 26,923,602 km of Earth in 2033
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

5590 (1990 VA) is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 1990 VA 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.

1990 VA orbits the sun every 357 days (0.98 years), coming as close as 0.71 AU and reaching as far as 1.26 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 1990 VA is probably between 0.277 to 0.619 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 90% of asteroids but tiny compared to large asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building.

Close Approaches

1990 VA's orbit is 0.12 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 VA has 5 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Oct. 6, 2033 26,923,602 13.848
Oct. 6, 2034 18,315,253 10.987
Oct. 14, 2035 22,496,865 9.452
Oct. 5, 2080 24,550,768 13.335
Oct. 7, 2081 17,929,656 10.810

Images and Observations

1990 VA's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 9, 1990. It was last officially observed on Dec. 5, 1996. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 67 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 VA:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.9856 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.2796
  • Inclination: 14.19°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 216.28°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 34.48°
  • Mean Anomaly: 343.01°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.358 km
  • Magnitude: 19.91

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 357 days (0.98 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 30.03 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.26 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.71 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 5590 (1990 VA) 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 1990 VA 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.