2007 VZ137

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2007 VZ137

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 15,715,271 km of Earth in 2027
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2007 VZ137 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2007 VZ137 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2007 VZ137 orbits the sun every 813 days (2.23 years), coming as close as 0.71 AU and reaching as far as 2.70 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2007 VZ137 is probably between 0.127 to 0.284 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

Close Approaches

2007 VZ137'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.

2007 VZ137 has 12 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Sept. 26, 2027 15,715,271 14.229
Oct. 3, 2047 8,305,397 17.125
April 13, 2065 24,128,177 21.585
Oct. 9, 2067 18,478,933 20.181
April 20, 2085 4,937,417 17.714
April 15, 2105 20,126,751 20.816
Oct. 11, 2107 18,064,444 20.090
Oct. 7, 2127 9,000,030 17.827
Oct. 6, 2147 7,875,107 17.305
Oct. 8, 2167 9,397,846 18.030
April 16, 2185 21,181,869 21.079
Oct. 12, 2187 19,501,044 20.504

Images and Observations

2007 VZ137's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 9, 2007. It was last officially observed on May 2, 2016. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 52 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 2007 VZ137:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.704 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5854
  • Inclination: 5.22°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 226.35°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 63.78°
  • Mean Anomaly: 87.9°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.164 km
  • Magnitude: 21.6

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 813 days (2.23 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 22.80 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.70 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.71 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2007 VZ137 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 2007 VZ137 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.