2006 BE55

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2006 BE55

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 3,580,891 km of Earth in 2023
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2006 BE55 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2006 BE55 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2006 BE55 orbits the sun every 477 days (1.31 years), coming as close as 0.69 AU and reaching as far as 1.70 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2006 BE55 is probably between 0.107 to 0.239 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

Close Approaches

2006 BE55'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.

2006 BE55 has 20 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Feb. 28, 2023 3,580,891 13.324
Sept. 15, 2028 25,000,197 18.101
Feb. 22, 2040 21,559,276 17.491
Sept. 8, 2045 4,168,839 13.384
Sept. 4, 2062 11,510,952 11.108
March 16, 2070 26,048,940 8.213
Sept. 2, 2079 15,662,984 10.282
March 19, 2087 27,389,282 8.109
Sept. 3, 2096 11,431,910 11.142
Sept. 5, 2113 10,835,446 11.259
March 20, 2121 27,934,142 8.046
Sept. 1, 2130 17,821,670 9.838
March 10, 2138 19,188,232 9.473
Aug. 24, 2147 26,649,959 8.361
March 7, 2155 11,949,508 10.958
Aug. 19, 2164 28,618,151 8.279
March 7, 2172 13,657,328 10.600
Aug. 26, 2181 25,062,125 8.561
March 9, 2189 16,274,388 10.071
Aug. 24, 2198 26,317,296 8.395

Images and Observations

2006 BE55's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Jan. 26, 2006. It was last officially observed on March 1, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 213 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 BE55:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.195 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4245
  • Inclination: 2.4°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 125.26°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 126.41°
  • Mean Anomaly: 103.71°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.138 km
  • Magnitude: 21.98

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 477 days (1.31 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 27.25 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.70 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.69 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2006 BE55 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 BE55 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.