171576 (1999 VP11)

Small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 171576 (1999 VP11)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge
  • Will pass within 24,470,295 km of Earth in 2034
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

171576 (1999 VP11) is a small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 1999 VP11 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

1999 VP11 orbits the sun every 413 days (1.13 years), coming as close as 0.45 AU and reaching as far as 1.72 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 1999 VP11 is probably between 0.486 to 1.087 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than ~97% of asteroids but small compared to large asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge.

The rotation of 1999 VP11 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 2.80 hours.

Close Approaches

1999 VP11's orbit is 0.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

1999 VP11 has 9 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Oct. 17, 2034 24,470,295 16.499
Oct. 27, 2043 19,736,205 24.563
Oct. 20, 2060 6,918,935 19.515
Oct. 22, 2086 1,165,197 20.619
Oct. 27, 2095 17,668,292 24.171
Oct. 21, 2130 12,141,282 18.577
Oct. 25, 2139 7,702,287 22.244
Oct. 23, 2174 3,864,834 20.117
Oct. 28, 2183 16,344,083 23.919

Images and Observations

1999 VP11's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 7, 1999. It was last officially observed on March 1, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 444 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 VP11:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.086 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5835
  • Inclination: 17.28°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 208.08°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 61.73°
  • Mean Anomaly: 122.79°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.627 km
  • Magnitude: 18.69

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 413 days (1.13 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 28.61 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.72 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.45 AU
  • Rotation Period: 2.80 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 171576 (1999 VP11) 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 VP11 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.