162361 (2000 AF6)

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 162361 (2000 AF6)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 16,448,141 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

162361 (2000 AF6) is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2000 AF6 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2000 AF6 orbits the sun every 299 days (0.82 years), coming as close as 0.52 AU and reaching as far as 1.24 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2000 AF6 is probably between 0.238 to 0.532 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 90% of asteroids but tiny compared to large asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

The rotation of 2000 AF6 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 3.46 hours.

Close Approaches

2000 AF6's orbit is 0.02 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.

2000 AF6 has 33 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
March 18, 2019 16,448,141 9.505
Dec. 25, 2022 24,634,275 8.995
Dec. 21, 2031 20,359,661 9.070
March 3, 2037 27,957,530 8.974
Dec. 26, 2040 24,610,292 8.968
March 9, 2046 23,895,098 8.927
Jan. 1, 2050 28,326,017 9.084
March 13, 2055 21,652,779 8.977
Dec. 28, 2058 26,387,473 9.001
Dec. 14, 2067 11,075,145 14.404
March 21, 2069 8,195,050 13.142
Dec. 13, 2081 3,443,126 12.467
March 21, 2083 15,285,604 15.007
March 10, 2092 24,626,545 8.923
Dec. 17, 2095 14,560,283 9.654
Dec. 19, 2104 28,736,514 18.235
March 21, 2106 13,884,132 9.958
Dec. 26, 2109 24,149,714 8.998
Dec. 17, 2118 19,517,524 16.243
March 23, 2120 7,797,379 11.518
Jan. 4, 2124 29,663,817 9.132
Dec. 14, 2132 4,895,417 13.032
March 22, 2134 12,328,449 14.268
Dec. 16, 2146 10,653,766 14.335
March 23, 2148 8,012,581 12.917
Dec. 15, 2160 11,285,589 14.464
March 23, 2162 7,801,359 12.797
Dec. 17, 2174 15,960,425 15.478
March 23, 2176 7,287,283 11.956
Jan. 1, 2180 27,989,529 9.072
March 12, 2190 25,214,516 8.904
Dec. 15, 2193 4,325,561 11.550
March 22, 2195 18,077,166 15.629

Images and Observations

2000 AF6's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Jan. 15, 1991. It was last officially observed on Feb. 11, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 503 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 2000 AF6:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.8759 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.411
  • Inclination: 2.71°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 109.87°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 201.27°
  • Mean Anomaly: 67.82°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.307 km
  • Magnitude: 20.24

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 299 days (0.82 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 31.87 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.24 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.52 AU
  • Rotation Period: 3.46 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 162361 (2000 AF6) 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 2000 AF6 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.