2021 VU12

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2021 VU12

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 25,185,772 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2021 VU12 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2021 VU12 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 VU12 orbits the sun every 368 days (1.01 years), coming as close as 0.86 AU and reaching as far as 1.15 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2021 VU12 is probably between 0.039 to 0.088 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2021 VU12'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 VU12 has 34 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Nov. 14, 2019 25,185,772 12.111
Nov. 13, 2020 18,673,119 11.185
Nov. 13, 2021 13,449,909 10.437
Nov. 12, 2022 10,526,646 9.902
Nov. 11, 2023 10,901,617 9.530
Nov. 8, 2024 14,063,852 9.278
Nov. 6, 2025 18,597,134 9.154
Nov. 3, 2026 23,691,556 9.143
Oct. 30, 2027 28,950,797 9.192
April 15, 2029 28,722,600 9.943
April 22, 2030 23,697,205 9.891
April 29, 2031 19,054,475 9.893
May 4, 2032 15,372,594 9.995
May 9, 2033 13,511,501 10.229
May 15, 2034 14,341,995 10.586
May 20, 2035 17,796,046 11.116
May 24, 2036 23,015,140 11.801
May 29, 2037 29,241,991 12.644
Nov. 15, 2132 23,254,402 11.824
Nov. 15, 2133 17,093,515 10.957
Nov. 14, 2134 12,391,620 10.281
Nov. 13, 2135 10,316,526 9.774
Nov. 11, 2136 11,555,786 9.437
Nov. 9, 2137 15,159,425 9.235
Nov. 6, 2138 19,918,157 9.137
Nov. 3, 2139 25,102,678 9.131
April 18, 2142 27,673,900 9.932
April 25, 2143 22,711,441 9.885
April 30, 2144 18,268,553 9.904
May 6, 2145 14,895,823 10.040
May 12, 2146 13,546,667 10.291
May 17, 2147 14,938,978 10.685
May 21, 2148 18,782,089 11.244
May 26, 2149 24,224,472 11.955

Images and Observations

2021 VU12's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 12, 2021. It was last officially observed on Nov. 16, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 37 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 VU12:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.005 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1478
  • Inclination: 17.55°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 224.62°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 301.85°
  • Mean Anomaly: 198.43°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.051 km
  • Magnitude: 24.14

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 368 days (1.01 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 29.71 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.15 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.86 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2021 VU12 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 VU12 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.