2021 XL6

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2021 XL6

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 28,715,282 km of Earth in 2021
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2021 XL6 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2021 XL6 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2021 XL6 orbits the sun every 655 days (1.79 years), coming as close as 0.98 AU and reaching as far as 1.98 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2021 XL6 is probably between 0.154 to 0.344 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2021 XL6's orbit is 0.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

2021 XL6 has 8 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Dec. 5, 2021 28,715,282 16.249
Nov. 23, 2030 2,248,311 14.096
Nov. 26, 2039 8,200,410 14.418
Dec. 3, 2048 24,152,408 15.752
Nov. 12, 2113 21,994,721 13.888
Nov. 19, 2122 8,017,758 13.765
Nov. 22, 2131 2,330,055 13.910
Nov. 9, 2140 27,118,188 14.090

Images and Observations

2021 XL6's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 4, 2021. It was last officially observed on March 15, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 75 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 XL6:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.477 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3393
  • Inclination: 23.19°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 59.89°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 343.82°
  • Mean Anomaly: 3.83°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.198 km
  • Magnitude: 21.19

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 655 days (1.79 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 24.53 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.98 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.98 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2021 XL6 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 XL6 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.