2001 BD16

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2001 BD16

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 25,561,027 km of Earth in 2025
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2001 BD16 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2001 BD16 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 BD16 orbits the sun every 751 days (2.06 years), coming as close as 0.52 AU and reaching as far as 2.72 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2001 BD16 is probably between 0.236 to 0.527 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.

Close Approaches

2001 BD16's orbit is 0.07 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 BD16 has 9 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
June 20, 2025 25,561,027 23.755
Jan. 7, 2036 12,644,973 21.745
Jan. 12, 2073 14,860,005 25.458
June 19, 2097 25,506,296 24.468
Jan. 7, 2108 13,721,278 21.266
June 30, 2134 28,304,287 20.661
Jan. 13, 2145 12,580,035 25.064
June 20, 2169 24,294,456 24.250
Jan. 8, 2180 11,739,695 21.616

Images and Observations

2001 BD16's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Jan. 13, 1999. It was last officially observed on May 22, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 32 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 BD16:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.617 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.6811
  • Inclination: 18.1°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 119.57°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 246.64°
  • Mean Anomaly: 28.67°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.304 km
  • Magnitude: 20.26

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 751 days (2.06 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 23.42 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.72 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.52 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2001 BD16 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 BD16 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.