2016 DL

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 2016 DL

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field (0.23 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 7,989,734 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2016 DL is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2016 DL as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2016 DL orbits the sun every 220 days (0.60 years), coming as close as 0.38 AU and reaching as far as 1.05 AU from the sun. 2016 DL is about 0.2 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2016 DL's orbit is 0.05 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 DL has 23 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Jan. 15, 2019 7,989,734 15.192
Jan. 15, 2022 12,949,216 17.411
Jan. 18, 2025 27,109,585 20.200
Jan. 18, 2048 20,411,587 13.675
Jan. 15, 2051 8,869,160 15.000
Jan. 15, 2054 11,634,980 17.148
Jan. 17, 2057 25,473,156 19.892
Jan. 19, 2080 22,945,247 13.534
Jan. 15, 2083 10,891,223 14.641
Jan. 15, 2086 9,419,810 16.646
Jan. 17, 2089 22,654,471 19.346
Jan. 21, 2112 24,868,637 13.441
Jan. 17, 2115 12,642,600 14.392
Jan. 16, 2118 8,203,075 16.282
Jan. 18, 2121 20,592,315 18.941
Jan. 21, 2144 25,218,038 13.418
Jan. 17, 2147 12,818,990 14.371
Jan. 16, 2150 8,207,656 16.267
Jan. 18, 2153 20,540,266 18.924
Jan. 21, 2176 24,688,688 13.438
Jan. 17, 2179 12,076,710 14.485
Jan. 16, 2182 8,902,610 16.483
Jan. 18, 2185 22,169,679 19.248

Images and Observations

2016 DL's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Jan. 17, 2010. It was last officially observed on March 13, 2019. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 43 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 DL:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2459600.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.7143 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4712
  • Inclination: 23.86°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 290.13°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 33.19°
  • Mean Anomaly: 116.78°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 0.22800 km
  • Magnitude: 21.3
  • Albedo: 0.103

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 220 days (0.60 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 35.32 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.05 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.38 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2016 DL 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 DL 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.