2021 LL2

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2021 LL2

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 24,433,733 km of Earth in 2021
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2021 LL2 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2021 LL2 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2021 LL2 orbits the sun every 829 days (2.27 years), coming as close as 0.49 AU and reaching as far as 2.96 AU from the sun. Its orbit is highly elliptical. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2021 LL2 is probably between 0.126 to 0.282 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

Close Approaches

2021 LL2's orbit is 0.05 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 LL2 has 11 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
June 25, 2021 24,433,733 27.241
Feb. 1, 2033 19,857,840 26.294
July 13, 2055 24,531,043 18.035
Jan. 23, 2058 11,897,315 20.855
July 1, 2080 9,287,210 23.792
July 13, 2114 22,835,644 18.373
Jan. 24, 2117 14,644,516 20.155
June 28, 2139 24,051,205 27.118
Jan. 31, 2151 11,426,518 24.203
July 4, 2173 8,204,286 23.320
Feb. 7, 2185 29,685,778 28.395

Images and Observations

2021 LL2's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Jan. 22, 2015. It was last officially observed on May 15, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 58 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 LL2:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.727 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.7143
  • Inclination: 3.11°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 225.42°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 159.68°
  • Mean Anomaly: 330.7°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.163 km
  • Magnitude: 21.62

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 829 days (2.27 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 22.66 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.96 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.49 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2021 LL2 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 LL2 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.