Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 168,699 km of Earth in 2021
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2021 CC6 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2021 CC6 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.

2021 CC6 orbits the sun every 611 days (1.67 years), coming as close as 0.75 AU and reaching as far as 2.07 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2021 CC6 is probably between 0.002 to 0.006 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2021 CC6'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.

2021 CC6 has 9 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Feb. 12, 2021 168,699 13.578
Feb. 21, 2026 13,879,357 10.675
July 19, 2061 8,207,065 11.834
July 21, 2066 4,242,792 12.620
July 20, 2071 7,811,633 11.914
July 12, 2076 16,917,057 10.243
June 28, 2081 25,784,141 9.426
Feb. 19, 2111 10,045,673 11.395
Feb. 11, 2116 7,061,772 14.828

Images and Observations

2021 CC6's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Feb. 11, 2021. It was last officially observed on Feb. 12, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 34 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 2021 CC6:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.409 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4705
  • Inclination: 1.13°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 140.45°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 79.54°
  • Mean Anomaly: 166.03°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.003 km
  • Magnitude: 30.15

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 611 days (1.67 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 25.09 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.07 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.75 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2021 CC6 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.