Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 27,050,970 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2021 PZ9 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2021 PZ9 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 PZ9 orbits the sun every 360 days (0.99 years), coming as close as 0.80 AU and reaching as far as 1.18 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2021 PZ9 is probably between 0.007 to 0.032 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2021 PZ9's orbit is 0.02 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 PZ9 has 26 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Aug. 4, 2019 27,050,970 11.452
July 31, 2020 12,989,746 8.719
July 30, 2021 2,976,964 6.284
Aug. 6, 2022 13,633,259 4.473
June 7, 2023 26,753,273 4.574
Sept. 1, 2023 23,268,009 4.806
Sept. 22, 2024 28,507,728 5.272
Nov. 2, 2026 29,535,634 5.052
March 8, 2027 28,220,366 6.336
Feb. 11, 2028 22,259,173 5.314
Jan. 11, 2029 12,865,347 4.796
Jan. 1, 2030 9,093,492 7.035
Dec. 27, 2030 19,721,285 9.779
Aug. 1, 2085 18,276,502 9.767
July 30, 2086 6,131,655 7.375
July 30, 2087 6,189,572 5.479
Aug. 12, 2088 16,993,926 4.422
May 30, 2089 28,041,944 4.974
Sept. 5, 2089 24,727,517 4.958
Sept. 24, 2090 29,053,277 5.331
Jan. 4, 2096 8,336,665 6.207
Dec. 28, 2096 14,593,316 8.646
Dec. 24, 2097 27,039,161 11.361
Aug. 5, 2148 29,500,033 11.894
Aug. 2, 2149 14,715,869 9.035
July 31, 2150 2,719,111 6.437

Images and Observations

2021 PZ9's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Aug. 8, 2021. It was last officially observed on Aug. 11, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 11 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2021 PZ9 can be reached with a journey of 378 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 6.671 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 537,518 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2021 PZ9.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2021 PZ9:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.9898 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1941
  • Inclination: 5.3°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 137.68°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 58.1°
  • Mean Anomaly: 144.68°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.020 km
  • Magnitude: 26.94

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 360 days (0.99 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 29.91 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.18 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.80 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2021 PZ9 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.