2014 VL6

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2014 VL6

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field (0.24 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 12,936,597 km of Earth in 2028
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2014 VL6 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2014 VL6 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2014 VL6 orbits the sun every 506 days (1.39 years), coming as close as 0.83 AU and reaching as far as 1.65 AU from the sun. 2014 VL6 is about 0.2 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2014 VL6'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.

2014 VL6 has 20 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
May 19, 2028 12,936,597 11.943
Sept. 17, 2039 24,758,729 7.283
May 29, 2046 11,382,470 8.185
Oct. 24, 2057 2,824,116 10.161
May 29, 2071 10,765,147 8.349
Nov. 1, 2082 22,879,330 14.308
Oct. 1, 2089 19,930,184 6.913
July 14, 2096 28,336,538 7.589
May 22, 2103 11,992,559 11.681
Oct. 24, 2114 2,972,365 9.586
July 21, 2121 29,264,054 7.800
May 17, 2128 22,368,672 13.898
Sept. 20, 2139 24,198,147 7.236
June 5, 2146 16,427,474 7.157
Oct. 30, 2157 12,326,899 12.244
Aug. 26, 2164 29,273,774 8.081
May 29, 2171 9,103,120 8.883
Oct. 29, 2182 9,183,018 11.637
Sept. 5, 2189 27,696,705 7.811
June 16, 2196 21,266,688 6.551

Images and Observations

2014 VL6's orbit is determined by observations dating back to April 26, 2003. It was last officially observed on Dec. 14, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 229 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2014 VL6 can be reached with a journey of 370 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 11.59 km/s. To put this into perspective, the delta-v to launch a rocket to Low-Earth Orbit is 9.7 km/s. There are 30 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2014 VL6.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2014 VL6:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.243 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3291
  • Inclination: 6.09°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 38.85°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 279.95°
  • Mean Anomaly: 182.0°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 0.24200 km
  • Magnitude: 21.38
  • Albedo: 0.091

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 506 days (1.39 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 26.72 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.65 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.83 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2014 VL6 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 2014 VL6 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.