2016 XR23

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2016 XR23

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 13,846,865 km of Earth in 2026
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2016 XR23 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2016 XR23 as a "Near Earth Asteroid" due to its orbit's proximity to Earth, but it is not considered potentially hazardous because computer simulations have not indicated any imminent likelihood of future collision.

2016 XR23 orbits the sun every 404 days (1.11 years), coming as close as 0.91 AU and reaching as far as 1.23 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2016 XR23 is probably between 0.014 to 0.065 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2016 XR23's orbit is 0.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

2016 XR23 has 22 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
June 27, 2026 13,846,865 4.344
July 1, 2036 27,299,646 9.861
Dec. 20, 2037 23,016,165 9.602
May 22, 2047 29,046,202 4.767
Nov. 25, 2047 14,574,601 4.104
July 4, 2057 10,878,916 6.513
Dec. 2, 2068 11,073,430 4.295
July 2, 2078 20,907,542 8.654
Dec. 22, 2079 26,785,189 10.303
June 20, 2089 17,274,022 4.243
Dec. 14, 2100 3,517,390 6.194
May 22, 2110 29,659,881 4.829
Nov. 29, 2110 12,837,961 4.186
June 25, 2120 15,595,208 4.295
July 6, 2130 11,632,947 6.628
Dec. 18, 2141 11,861,011 7.567
Dec. 5, 2151 9,651,664 4.410
July 1, 2161 12,031,739 4.526
July 4, 2171 22,547,679 8.908
Dec. 23, 2172 29,355,780 10.789
Dec. 11, 2182 2,933,821 5.221
June 30, 2192 27,327,884 9.877

Images and Observations

2016 XR23's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 15, 2016. It was last officially observed on Feb. 2, 2017. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 87 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2016 XR23 can be reached with a journey of 370 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 6.963 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 89,278 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2016 XR23.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2016 XR23:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.07 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1483
  • Inclination: 7.06°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 80.95°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 292.9°
  • Mean Anomaly: 87.83°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.040 km
  • Magnitude: 25.4

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 404 days (1.11 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 28.81 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.23 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.91 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2016 XR23 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 XR23 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.