2016 RT1

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 2016 RT1

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 21,700,483 km of Earth in 2032
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2016 RT1 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2016 RT1 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2016 RT1 orbits the sun every 344 days (0.94 years), coming as close as 0.85 AU and reaching as far as 1.07 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2016 RT1 is probably between 0.111 to 0.248 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

Close Approaches

2016 RT1'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.

2016 RT1 has 24 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Feb. 28, 2032 21,700,483 17.049
Sept. 5, 2032 12,690,631 15.704
Feb. 25, 2048 25,702,370 17.163
Sept. 5, 2048 18,631,979 16.061
Sept. 8, 2063 24,966,904 15.530
Sept. 4, 2064 26,882,747 16.680
March 14, 2079 25,025,943 17.649
Sept. 8, 2079 17,183,724 15.290
March 11, 2095 21,566,930 17.397
Sept. 8, 2095 12,158,111 15.218
March 12, 2111 20,962,659 17.354
Sept. 9, 2111 11,327,171 15.217
March 14, 2127 23,047,790 17.507
Sept. 9, 2127 14,896,269 15.256
March 18, 2143 28,169,824 17.889
Sept. 9, 2143 21,836,905 15.423
Sept. 5, 2144 29,145,039 16.861
Sept. 10, 2159 29,783,302 15.755
Feb. 24, 2160 27,813,544 17.239
Sept. 6, 2160 21,109,837 16.222
Feb. 28, 2176 23,054,458 17.088
Sept. 6, 2176 14,770,398 15.815
March 1, 2192 21,405,600 17.055
Sept. 7, 2192 12,254,000 15.678

Images and Observations

2016 RT1's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 4, 2016. It was last officially observed on Jan. 25, 2017. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 62 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 RT1:

References

Search

   or view a random object

Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.9603 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1113
  • Inclination: 30.58°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 343.8°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 145.13°
  • Mean Anomaly: 31.37°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.143 km
  • Magnitude: 21.9

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 344 days (0.94 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 30.37 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.07 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.85 AU

Map Comparison

Click to load map

Orbit Simulation

⧉

Sky Map

The position of 2016 RT1 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 RT1 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.