2006 AM4

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 2006 AM4

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 19,012,230 km of Earth in 2026
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2006 AM4 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2006 AM4 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2006 AM4 orbits the sun every 356 days (0.97 years), coming as close as 0.34 AU and reaching as far as 1.62 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2006 AM4 is probably between 0.116 to 0.259 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

The rotation of 2006 AM4 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 0.08 hours.

Close Approaches

2006 AM4's orbit is 0.01 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.

2006 AM4 has 23 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Oct. 31, 2026 19,012,230 24.337
Oct. 26, 2027 12,704,840 19.754
Feb. 3, 2043 11,762,390 18.851
Jan. 30, 2044 12,477,264 23.670
Nov. 1, 2062 20,570,426 24.728
Oct. 27, 2063 12,586,178 19.814
Feb. 4, 2078 27,287,370 16.158
Feb. 2, 2079 3,930,641 20.435
Jan. 28, 2080 20,030,663 25.260
Nov. 1, 2098 20,972,666 24.831
Oct. 27, 2099 12,180,122 19.965
Feb. 5, 2114 29,086,001 15.898
Feb. 4, 2115 6,077,079 19.962
Jan. 30, 2116 17,616,478 24.746
Nov. 3, 2135 23,598,498 25.463
Oct. 28, 2136 10,862,128 20.907
Oct. 26, 2137 25,359,934 16.778
Feb. 5, 2153 14,005,456 18.408
Feb. 1, 2154 8,355,864 22.785
Nov. 1, 2174 15,903,666 23.509
Oct. 28, 2175 15,357,509 18.953
Feb. 5, 2191 12,878,049 18.627
Feb. 1, 2192 10,550,717 23.246

Images and Observations

2006 AM4's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Jan. 8, 2006. It was last officially observed on Jan. 15, 2008. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 183 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 2006 AM4:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.9822 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.6492
  • Inclination: 4.15°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 123.34°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 139.63°
  • Mean Anomaly: 331.89°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.150 km
  • Magnitude: 21.8

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 356 days (0.97 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 30.02 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.62 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.34 AU
  • Rotation Period: 0.08 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2006 AM4 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 2006 AM4 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.