153315 (2001 NH6)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 153315 (2001 NH6)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building
  • Will pass within 27,691,861 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

153315 (2001 NH6) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2001 NH6 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.

2001 NH6 orbits the sun every 503 days (1.38 years), coming as close as 0.68 AU and reaching as far as 1.79 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2001 NH6 is probably between 0.323 to 0.721 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

2001 NH6's orbit is 0.10 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.

2001 NH6 has 16 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
July 16, 2019 27,691,861 24.483
July 18, 2030 20,408,370 23.162
July 19, 2041 15,619,850 21.946
July 20, 2052 15,152,425 21.020
July 22, 2063 18,243,239 20.155
July 23, 2074 24,166,493 19.298
Jan. 9, 2090 25,640,016 21.041
Jan. 14, 2101 19,040,840 21.820
Jan. 18, 2112 15,589,517 22.595
Jan. 21, 2123 16,033,603 23.581
Jan. 24, 2134 20,854,941 24.703
Jan. 28, 2145 29,243,608 26.141
July 17, 2158 26,857,213 24.274
July 19, 2169 19,936,489 22.958
July 21, 2180 15,853,109 21.767
July 23, 2191 15,914,975 20.890

Images and Observations

2001 NH6's orbit is determined by observations dating back to July 10, 2001. It was last officially observed on July 14, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 112 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 2001 NH6:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.237 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4497
  • Inclination: 34.7°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 112.53°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 288.4°
  • Mean Anomaly: 322.14°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.416 km
  • Magnitude: 19.58

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 503 days (1.38 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 26.75 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.79 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.68 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 153315 (2001 NH6) 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 2001 NH6 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.