science news
Newly discovered asteroid 2024 UQ2 will fly past Earth on October 30 – closer than expected.
Mysterious asteroid 2024 UQ2 will pass close to Earth. (Image credit: AI x Pragya Singha Roy/News9)
Asteroid 2024 UQ2, a NEO of the Apollo group, will make a close approach to Earth on October 30, 2024. This asteroid belongs to the Apollo group, which is made up of near-Earth asteroids with crossed orbits, which attracts the attention of astronomers. The object's nominal approach distance is approximately 1.67 million kilometers, or about 4.3 times that of the Moon, and the asteroid will be observed closely to better determine its path.
Asteroid 2024 UQ2 has an eccentricity of 0.61 which means that it is an eccentric asteroid and at some point in its orbit it approaches the Sun and the Earth. Its orbital semi-major axis is 1.97 AU, but perihelion – the distance at which the asteroid is closest to the Sun – is only 0.76 AU, which places the asteroid just inside the orbit of Venus. This orbit places it close to Earth's orbit in the Solar System, and thus makes it a target not only for observation but also for study. It also has an inclination of 0.54 degrees towards the ecliptic, which keeps it out of the plane of the Earth's orbit.
Completion approaches on October 30th
The asteroid will make its closest approach on October 30, 2024 at 13:23 TDB (Terrestrial Dynamic Time). The calculated distance places NEO at a nominal approach of 1,665,377 km from Earth. Depending on the extent of uncertainty of this approach the distance can have any value between 1,652,969 and 1,677,784 kilometers. Its relative velocity is 14.86 km/s, which means it will only be visible to astronomers for short periods of time as it moves away from Earth.
Observation and monitoring data
Observations for 2024 UQ2 were obtained with a 1-day observation arc from October 24 to October 25, 2024. A total of 19 observations were used by the researchers to define the initial orbital parameters. However, status code 8 means that the asteroid's orbit is unpredictable today, but may change as new data is received. It is therefore considered a near-approach object with a mean MOID of 0.00266 AU, although there is no possibility of an impact in this case.
NASA JPL researchers will continue observing 2024 UQ2, adding new information about its motion and orbit to provide better predictions about its future position and how close it will come to Earth.
Next article
Follow us on Social Media