2019 AP6

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 2019 AP6

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 29,517,772 km of Earth in 2021
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2019 AP6 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2019 AP6 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2019 AP6 orbits the sun every 232 days (0.64 years), coming as close as 0.44 AU and reaching as far as 1.04 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2019 AP6 is probably between 0.153 to 0.342 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2019 AP6'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.

2019 AP6 has 32 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Feb. 6, 2021 29,517,772 16.379
Dec. 22, 2025 15,658,830 9.654
Dec. 23, 2032 15,350,671 9.318
Dec. 25, 2039 15,220,325 9.136
Dec. 26, 2046 15,135,594 8.951
Dec. 27, 2053 15,096,026 8.831
Dec. 28, 2060 15,065,113 8.770
Dec. 30, 2067 15,057,382 8.701
Dec. 30, 2074 15,026,085 8.668
Dec. 30, 2081 15,007,013 8.659
Dec. 30, 2088 14,996,523 8.630
Dec. 31, 2095 14,988,593 8.674
Jan. 1, 2103 14,985,855 8.658
Dec. 30, 2109 14,976,707 8.710
Dec. 30, 2116 14,964,642 8.762
Dec. 29, 2123 14,981,432 8.826
Dec. 28, 2130 14,997,875 8.956
Dec. 26, 2137 15,058,926 9.084
Dec. 25, 2144 15,202,892 9.343
Dec. 24, 2151 15,530,812 9.663
Dec. 22, 2158 16,063,019 10.073
Feb. 8, 2161 28,375,058 16.066
Dec. 21, 2165 17,074,772 10.628
Feb. 9, 2168 25,107,430 15.342
Dec. 20, 2172 18,514,642 11.295
Feb. 10, 2175 22,068,273 14.652
Dec. 20, 2179 20,349,181 11.977
Feb. 10, 2182 18,594,712 13.853
Dec. 20, 2186 22,600,547 12.755
Feb. 10, 2189 15,473,910 13.167
Dec. 20, 2193 24,247,703 13.257
Feb. 11, 2196 13,363,312 12.676

Images and Observations

2019 AP6's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Jan. 7, 2019. It was last officially observed on Jan. 31, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 116 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 2019 AP6:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.7396 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4111
  • Inclination: 7.07°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 327.3°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 325.04°
  • Mean Anomaly: 282.95°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.197 km
  • Magnitude: 21.2

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 232 days (0.64 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 34.68 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.04 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.44 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2019 AP6 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 2019 AP6 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.