2001 FC58

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2001 FC58

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 21,425,831 km of Earth in 2027
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2001 FC58 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2001 FC58 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2001 FC58 orbits the sun every 377 days (1.03 years), coming as close as 0.67 AU and reaching as far as 1.37 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2001 FC58 is probably between 0.221 to 0.494 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2001 FC58'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.

2001 FC58 has 23 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Aug. 17, 2027 21,425,831 14.322
Aug. 25, 2028 11,473,998 8.953
March 21, 2035 3,907,554 9.967
March 28, 2036 24,425,565 15.282
Aug. 19, 2062 14,779,474 12.910
Aug. 28, 2063 16,433,460 7.861
March 21, 2070 5,220,841 9.707
March 28, 2071 22,261,155 14.853
Aug. 16, 2097 20,779,870 14.192
Aug. 25, 2098 10,093,627 9.322
March 30, 2105 29,242,173 6.277
March 22, 2106 6,798,803 9.353
March 28, 2107 16,298,769 13.643
Aug. 17, 2142 23,148,957 14.649
Aug. 23, 2143 8,058,521 10.922
Aug. 29, 2144 18,331,137 7.428
March 21, 2153 12,504,403 8.259
March 26, 2154 8,304,703 12.015
April 1, 2155 28,691,001 16.067
Aug. 17, 2188 21,428,519 14.316
Aug. 23, 2189 7,457,220 10.607
Aug. 30, 2190 19,796,699 7.139
March 22, 2199 13,709,845 8.036

Images and Observations

2001 FC58's orbit is determined by observations dating back to June 1, 2000. It was last officially observed on May 22, 2008. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 148 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 FC58:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.021 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3433
  • Inclination: 6.77°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 174.61°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 261.23°
  • Mean Anomaly: 4.53°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.285 km
  • Magnitude: 20.4

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 377 days (1.03 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 29.46 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.37 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.67 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2001 FC58 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 FC58 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.