2021 GY3

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2021 GY3

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 18,252,695 km of Earth in 2021
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2021 GY3 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2021 GY3 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2021 GY3 orbits the sun every 800 days (2.19 years), coming as close as 0.66 AU and reaching as far as 2.71 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2021 GY3 is probably between 0.118 to 0.264 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

Close Approaches

2021 GY3'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 GY3 has 14 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
March 15, 2021 18,252,695 16.050
Oct. 11, 2053 16,733,608 16.730
March 29, 2056 16,650,507 22.116
March 12, 2067 25,249,059 14.970
Oct. 13, 2099 20,375,188 16.011
April 1, 2102 21,181,062 22.916
Oct. 1, 2110 24,538,744 22.946
March 17, 2113 17,445,417 16.205
Oct. 16, 2145 27,142,827 14.726
April 3, 2148 27,881,187 24.130
Oct. 2, 2156 21,389,502 22.196
March 19, 2159 13,346,551 16.909
Oct. 13, 2191 19,646,594 16.329
April 1, 2194 19,044,389 22.487

Images and Observations

2021 GY3's orbit is determined by observations dating back to April 6, 2021. It was last officially observed on May 9, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 86 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 GY3:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.686 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.6058
  • Inclination: 17.03°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 181.61°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 278.57°
  • Mean Anomaly: 71.63°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.153 km
  • Magnitude: 21.76

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 800 days (2.19 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 22.93 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.71 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.66 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2021 GY3 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 GY3 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.