2012 YY6

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2012 YY6

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 11,220,783 km of Earth in 2050
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2012 YY6 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2012 YY6 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2012 YY6 orbits the sun every 688 days (1.88 years), coming as close as 0.49 AU and reaching as far as 2.56 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2012 YY6 is probably between 0.146 to 0.327 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2012 YY6's orbit is 0.04 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.

2012 YY6 has 12 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
May 18, 2050 11,220,783 20.259
Dec. 17, 2061 9,772,254 22.810
May 10, 2067 17,546,926 25.455
Dec. 8, 2078 26,025,114 17.227
May 22, 2116 19,793,263 18.444
Dec. 27, 2127 27,811,048 27.474
May 20, 2133 13,187,488 19.841
Dec. 25, 2144 26,366,185 27.163
May 20, 2150 12,939,213 19.904
Dec. 26, 2161 26,509,872 27.194
May 21, 2167 14,468,075 19.552
May 23, 2184 19,723,839 18.459

Images and Observations

2012 YY6's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 29, 2012. It was last officially observed on June 2, 2016. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 69 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 2012 YY6:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.525 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.6812
  • Inclination: 4.03°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 22.62°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 317.79°
  • Mean Anomaly: 275.91°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.189 km
  • Magnitude: 21.3

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 688 days (1.88 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 24.11 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.56 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.49 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2012 YY6 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 2012 YY6 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.