2021 VH is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2021 VH 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 VH orbits the sun every 362 days (0.99 years), coming as close as 0.82 AU and reaching as far as 1.17 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2021 VH is probably between 0.002 to 0.009 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.
2021 VH's orbit is 0.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is very close to Earth's orbit.
2021 VH has 36 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:
| Date | Distance from Earth (km) | Velocity (km/s) |
|---|---|---|
| Nov. 1, 2021 | 29,316 | 7.698 |
| Nov. 1, 2022 | 2,266,853 | 5.251 |
| Nov. 2, 2023 | 9,685,313 | 3.764 |
| Oct. 3, 2024 | 17,893,238 | 3.237 |
| Nov. 21, 2024 | 16,915,082 | 3.659 |
| Sept. 9, 2025 | 22,930,997 | 4.672 |
| Dec. 9, 2025 | 21,757,807 | 4.362 |
| Aug. 24, 2026 | 26,103,557 | 5.498 |
| Dec. 24, 2026 | 24,849,580 | 4.822 |
| Aug. 10, 2027 | 28,063,796 | 6.006 |
| Jan. 5, 2028 | 26,617,924 | 5.097 |
| July 26, 2028 | 29,022,776 | 6.249 |
| Jan. 16, 2029 | 27,245,848 | 5.199 |
| July 13, 2029 | 29,083,549 | 6.251 |
| Jan. 28, 2030 | 26,789,962 | 5.118 |
| June 30, 2030 | 28,263,829 | 6.021 |
| Feb. 10, 2031 | 25,215,134 | 4.856 |
| June 16, 2031 | 26,478,210 | 5.540 |
| Feb. 24, 2032 | 22,314,027 | 4.408 |
| May 30, 2032 | 23,476,383 | 4.762 |
| March 13, 2033 | 17,703,271 | 3.722 |
| May 8, 2033 | 18,704,883 | 3.485 |
| April 4, 2034 | 10,698,923 | 3.606 |
| April 6, 2035 | 3,375,812 | 5.031 |
| April 4, 2036 | 1,069,292 | 5.898 |
| April 1, 2037 | 16,452,815 | 8.960 |
| Nov. 9, 2082 | 27,466,613 | 11.219 |
| Nov. 6, 2083 | 11,561,380 | 7.995 |
| Nov. 2, 2084 | 3,326,455 | 5.035 |
| Sept. 24, 2085 | 20,568,165 | 3.874 |
| Dec. 2, 2085 | 18,896,454 | 4.030 |
| Aug. 19, 2086 | 27,763,938 | 5.820 |
| Jan. 2, 2087 | 25,170,110 | 4.983 |
| April 4, 2090 | 7,285,503 | 4.239 |
| April 2, 2091 | 9,634,411 | 7.590 |
| March 28, 2092 | 27,792,866 | 11.264 |
2021 VH's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 2, 2021. It was last officially observed on Nov. 7, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 61 observations used to determine its orbit.
2021 VH can be reached with a journey of 378 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 5.286 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 2,543,746 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.
See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2021 VH.
The position of 2021 VH 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.