Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field (0.29 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 9,641,131 km of Earth in 2025
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2016 BP14 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2016 BP14 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2016 BP14 orbits the sun every 1,790 days (4.90 years), coming as close as 0.71 AU and reaching as far as 5.07 AU from the sun. Its orbit is highly elliptical. 2016 BP14 is about 0.3 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2016 BP14'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.

2016 BP14 has 1 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Aug. 19, 2025 9,641,131 17.352

Images and Observations

2016 BP14's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Jan. 21, 2016. It was last officially observed on Feb. 7, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 70 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 2016 BP14:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 2.89 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.7541
  • Inclination: 1.98°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 165.09°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 228.23°
  • Mean Anomaly: 210.05°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 0.28500 km
  • Magnitude: 21.05
  • Albedo: 0.072

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 1,790 days (4.90 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 17.56 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 5.07 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.71 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2016 BP14 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 2016 BP14 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.