Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 5,138,285 km of Earth in 2021
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2021 CV1 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2021 CV1 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 CV1 orbits the sun every 418 days (1.14 years), coming as close as 0.36 AU and reaching as far as 1.83 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2021 CV1 is probably between 0.028 to 0.063 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2021 CV1's orbit is 0.01 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

2021 CV1 has 16 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Feb. 13, 2021 5,138,285 21.457
Oct. 30, 2024 5,520,740 23.602
Feb. 16, 2029 16,332,061 19.257
Nov. 3, 2032 20,161,867 26.649
Oct. 26, 2071 23,076,552 18.053
Feb. 11, 2076 10,734,575 24.653
Oct. 28, 2079 7,548,324 21.006
Feb. 14, 2084 1,085,373 22.339
Nov. 1, 2087 9,642,780 24.450
Feb. 18, 2092 28,912,133 16.979
Feb. 11, 2115 14,530,607 25.462
Oct. 30, 2118 5,490,261 21.402
Feb. 17, 2123 9,675,156 20.553
Nov. 4, 2126 17,507,234 26.072
Feb. 16, 2162 7,948,173 20.888
Nov. 4, 2165 16,491,723 25.865

Images and Observations

2021 CV1's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Feb. 5, 2021. It was last officially observed on Feb. 14, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 66 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 CV1:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2459254.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.093 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.6748
  • Inclination: 0.55°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 1.66°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 268.25°
  • Mean Anomaly: 311.59°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.036 km
  • Magnitude: 24.87

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 418 days (1.14 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 28.45 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.83 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.36 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2021 CV1 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 2021 CV1 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.