2019 VF6

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2019 VF6

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 20,235,402 km of Earth in 2020
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2019 VF6 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2019 VF6 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2019 VF6 orbits the sun every 498 days (1.36 years), coming as close as 0.69 AU and reaching as far as 1.77 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2019 VF6 is probably between 0.157 to 0.350 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2019 VF6'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.

2019 VF6 has 16 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Jan. 10, 2020 20,235,402 11.938
July 11, 2028 18,014,908 18.300
Jan. 14, 2035 27,767,088 10.813
July 15, 2043 27,324,164 19.998
Dec. 27, 2075 23,955,170 19.637
June 26, 2084 23,421,168 11.440
Dec. 29, 2090 16,082,940 18.154
June 29, 2099 18,657,053 12.170
Dec. 30, 2105 14,674,999 17.923
June 28, 2114 22,760,138 11.541
Dec. 28, 2120 22,776,217 19.392
July 15, 2163 20,461,786 18.731
Jan. 12, 2170 21,002,021 11.814
July 12, 2178 12,527,580 17.298
Jan. 10, 2185 17,720,477 12.311
July 12, 2193 15,047,112 17.755

Images and Observations

2019 VF6's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 25, 2019. It was last officially observed on Sept. 16, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 89 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 VF6:

References

Search

   or view a random object

Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.23 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4393
  • Inclination: 14.9°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 102.18°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 89.17°
  • Mean Anomaly: 208.02°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.202 km
  • Magnitude: 21.15

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 498 days (1.36 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 26.87 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.77 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.69 AU

Map Comparison

Click to load map

Orbit Simulation

⧉

Sky Map

The position of 2019 VF6 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 VF6 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.