85989 (1999 JD6)

Mid-sized Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 85989 (1999 JD6)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Pentagon (1.46 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 19,563,339 km of Earth in 2020
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

85989 (1999 JD6) is a mid-sized asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 1999 JD6 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

1999 JD6 orbits the sun every 303 days (0.83 years), coming as close as 0.32 AU and reaching as far as 1.44 AU from the sun. 1999 JD6 is about 1.5 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the U.S. Pentagon.

The rotation of 1999 JD6 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 7.66 hours.

1999 JD6's spectral type None (Tholen) / K (SMASSII) indicates that it is likely to contain water, iron, nickel, cobalt, nitrogen, and ammonia.

Close Approaches

1999 JD6's orbit is 0.05 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.

1999 JD6 has 16 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
July 20, 2020 19,563,339 23.733
July 27, 2049 17,783,544 17.372
July 25, 2054 7,012,435 20.192
July 22, 2059 16,480,681 23.069
July 27, 2088 24,431,738 16.280
July 26, 2093 9,829,502 18.924
July 23, 2098 11,032,610 21.863
July 20, 2103 26,617,223 25.232
July 28, 2132 18,036,443 17.286
July 26, 2137 6,659,782 20.076
July 23, 2142 16,957,459 23.209
July 28, 2176 23,476,982 16.426
July 28, 2181 13,381,671 18.117
July 27, 2186 6,540,798 19.939
July 25, 2191 11,183,839 21.949
July 21, 2196 21,109,497 24.114

Images and Observations

1999 JD6's orbit is determined by observations dating back to June 22, 1990. It was last officially observed on July 8, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 3,258 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 1999 JD6:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.8831 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.6328
  • Inclination: 17.06°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 130.16°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 309.24°
  • Mean Anomaly: 223.35°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 1.46200 km
  • Magnitude: 17.12
  • Albedo: 0.056
  • Spectral type (SMASS): K

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 303 days (0.83 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 31.71 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.44 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.32 AU
  • Rotation Period: 7.66 hours
  • Approx. Composition: water, iron, nickel, cobalt, nitrogen, and ammonia.

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 85989 (1999 JD6) 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 1999 JD6 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.