2021 GT2

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 2021 GT2

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 14,953,943 km of Earth in 2020
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2021 GT2 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2021 GT2 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 GT2 orbits the sun every 341 days (0.93 years), coming as close as 0.73 AU and reaching as far as 1.18 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2021 GT2 is probably between 0.024 to 0.109 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2021 GT2's orbit is 0.01 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.

2021 GT2 has 37 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Jan. 26, 2020 14,953,943 9.567
March 26, 2021 27,552,501 5.804
June 6, 2022 3,636,630 7.517
Jan. 26, 2034 14,593,184 9.462
April 2, 2035 27,283,481 5.823
June 5, 2036 10,035,835 8.840
Jan. 25, 2048 7,517,688 7.358
April 13, 2049 26,527,242 5.743
June 4, 2050 18,463,913 10.542
Jan. 24, 2062 8,043,372 6.130
April 25, 2063 24,247,854 5.517
June 1, 2064 28,187,635 12.487
Feb. 8, 2076 17,513,977 4.563
May 13, 2077 19,385,582 5.020
Dec. 9, 2089 28,001,328 5.425
March 3, 2090 23,641,140 5.294
June 3, 2091 9,479,807 5.307
March 9, 2104 25,000,319 5.456
June 5, 2105 8,573,943 5.488
Dec. 30, 2117 23,293,385 3.650
Feb. 19, 2118 20,470,480 4.853
May 22, 2119 16,542,054 4.834
Jan. 29, 2132 13,815,316 4.666
May 3, 2133 22,787,086 5.353
July 24, 2133 29,148,659 4.726
Jan. 25, 2146 9,881,216 5.539
April 26, 2147 24,551,077 5.550
June 2, 2148 26,223,773 12.095
Jan. 25, 2160 7,466,039 7.210
April 13, 2161 26,757,554 5.777
June 5, 2162 16,316,475 10.114
Jan. 27, 2174 12,673,070 8.959
April 3, 2175 27,378,742 5.836
June 6, 2176 8,334,374 8.473
Jan. 29, 2188 18,361,823 10.305
March 26, 2189 27,136,278 5.801
June 7, 2190 4,188,781 7.531

Images and Observations

2021 GT2's orbit is determined by observations dating back to April 4, 2021. It was last officially observed on June 6, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 91 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2021 GT2 can be reached with a journey of 378 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 7.147 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 173,347 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2021 GT2.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2021 GT2:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.9549 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.2329
  • Inclination: 3.07°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 239.76°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 134.47°
  • Mean Anomaly: 37.39°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.067 km
  • Magnitude: 24.27

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 341 days (0.93 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 30.46 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.18 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.73 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2021 GT2 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 GT2 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.