99907 (1989 VA)

Mid-sized Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 99907 (1989 VA)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Pentagon (1.40 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 28,439,671 km of Earth in 2022
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

99907 (1989 VA) is a mid-sized asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 1989 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.

1989 VA orbits the sun every 227 days (0.62 years), coming as close as 0.30 AU and reaching as far as 1.16 AU from the sun. 1989 VA is about 1.4 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the U.S. Pentagon.

The rotation of 1989 VA has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 2.52 hours.

1989 VA's spectral type None (Tholen) / Sq (SMASSII) indicates that it is likely to contain and .

Close Approaches

1989 VA's orbit is 0.15 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.

1989 VA has 38 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Nov. 20, 2022 28,439,671 17.397
Oct. 24, 2025 27,623,006 19.827
Oct. 28, 2030 23,170,421 17.808
Nov. 4, 2035 24,424,245 17.050
Nov. 11, 2040 26,506,734 16.935
Nov. 19, 2045 28,223,162 17.269
Oct. 24, 2048 29,402,952 20.379
Oct. 27, 2053 23,667,623 18.246
Nov. 1, 2058 23,626,262 17.226
Nov. 9, 2063 25,647,986 16.918
Nov. 15, 2068 27,447,272 17.057
Nov. 23, 2073 29,792,030 17.827
Oct. 26, 2076 24,705,640 18.825
Oct. 31, 2081 23,234,914 17.377
Nov. 8, 2086 25,382,351 16.944
Nov. 16, 2091 27,372,706 17.039
Nov. 22, 2096 29,641,725 17.737
Oct. 26, 2099 25,123,344 19.004
Oct. 31, 2104 23,071,802 17.504
Nov. 6, 2109 24,812,887 16.976
Nov. 14, 2114 26,771,345 16.932
Nov. 21, 2119 28,485,467 17.315
Oct. 26, 2122 28,478,507 20.160
Oct. 29, 2127 23,145,173 18.022
Nov. 4, 2132 23,933,585 17.113
Nov. 12, 2137 26,276,517 16.932
Nov. 20, 2142 28,235,535 17.245
Oct. 26, 2145 29,187,672 20.399
Oct. 29, 2150 23,169,333 18.099
Nov. 4, 2155 23,806,448 17.132
Nov. 11, 2160 26,110,452 16.909
Nov. 18, 2165 27,910,613 17.106
Oct. 27, 2173 24,469,343 18.802
Nov. 1, 2178 23,018,842 17.436
Nov. 8, 2183 25,050,501 16.959
Nov. 15, 2188 27,159,979 16.990
Nov. 23, 2193 29,331,205 17.572
Oct. 27, 2196 25,632,496 19.310

Images and Observations

1989 VA's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 2, 1989. It was last officially observed on Dec. 20, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 1,223 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 1989 VA:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.7284 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5948
  • Inclination: 28.8°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 225.59°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 2.86°
  • Mean Anomaly: 327.4°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 1.40000 km
  • Magnitude: 17.93
  • Spectral type (SMASS): Sq

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 227 days (0.62 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 34.91 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.16 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.30 AU
  • Rotation Period: 2.52 hours
  • Approx. Composition: and .

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 99907 (1989 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 above comparison is an artistic rendering that uses available data on the diameter of 1989 VA 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.