2021 QL1

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 2021 QL1

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 25,576,707 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2021 QL1 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2021 QL1 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 QL1 orbits the sun every 361 days (0.99 years), coming as close as 0.90 AU and reaching as far as 1.09 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2021 QL1 is probably between 0.041 to 0.092 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2021 QL1's orbit is 0.07 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 QL1 has 31 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
March 14, 2019 25,576,707 11.927
Aug. 24, 2019 25,158,378 10.594
March 5, 2020 17,157,022 11.360
Aug. 27, 2020 16,711,112 10.148
Feb. 26, 2021 13,342,804 11.127
Aug. 30, 2021 11,169,727 9.994
Feb. 18, 2022 16,990,390 11.226
Sept. 2, 2022 12,507,446 10.131
Feb. 10, 2023 25,111,841 11.648
Sept. 4, 2023 19,849,596 10.607
Sept. 6, 2024 29,457,296 11.434
March 13, 2090 23,723,326 11.795
Aug. 25, 2090 23,557,858 10.497
March 5, 2091 15,915,317 11.291
Aug. 28, 2091 15,453,034 10.093
Feb. 25, 2092 13,490,385 11.122
Aug. 30, 2092 10,811,132 10.001
Feb. 16, 2093 18,354,765 11.284
Sept. 2, 2093 13,493,397 10.186
Feb. 8, 2094 26,949,143 11.766
Sept. 5, 2094 21,426,844 10.735
March 11, 2161 21,442,413 11.640
Aug. 26, 2161 21,486,647 10.374
March 3, 2162 14,606,172 11.220
Aug. 30, 2162 13,919,079 10.042
Feb. 24, 2163 14,139,988 11.133
Sept. 1, 2163 10,717,451 10.017
Feb. 16, 2164 20,318,970 11.377
Sept. 3, 2164 15,039,548 10.284
Feb. 7, 2165 29,382,643 11.931
Sept. 6, 2165 23,609,206 10.915

Images and Observations

2021 QL1's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Aug. 28, 2021. It was last officially observed on Sept. 6, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 50 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 QL1:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.9914 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.0958
  • Inclination: 19.78°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 336.97°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 162.24°
  • Mean Anomaly: 222.14°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.053 km
  • Magnitude: 24.04

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 361 days (0.99 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 29.88 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.09 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.90 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2021 QL1 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 QL1 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.