304330 (2006 SX217)

Small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 304330 (2006 SX217)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge (0.78 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 27,612,173 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

304330 (2006 SX217) is a small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2006 SX217 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2006 SX217 orbits the sun every 613 days (1.68 years), coming as close as 0.97 AU and reaching as far as 1.85 AU from the sun. 2006 SX217 is about 0.8 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than ~97% of asteroids but small compared to large asteroids, comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge.

Close Approaches

2006 SX217's orbit is 0.03 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.

2006 SX217 has 9 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
May 11, 2019 27,612,173 13.953
April 3, 2061 29,298,585 14.104
April 21, 2066 5,251,587 12.687
May 7, 2071 21,108,470 13.418
April 20, 2123 7,923,156 12.757
May 2, 2128 14,410,976 12.992
April 4, 2180 29,578,058 14.178
April 19, 2185 8,400,514 12.783
May 2, 2190 12,365,257 12.889

Images and Observations

2006 SX217's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 19, 2001. It was last officially observed on Nov. 27, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 347 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 2006 SX217:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.412 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3101
  • Inclination: 21.04°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 32.61°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 176.22°
  • Mean Anomaly: 217.68°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 0.78000 km
  • Magnitude: 18.89
  • Albedo: 0.080

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 613 days (1.68 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 25.06 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.85 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.97 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 304330 (2006 SX217) 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 above comparison is an artistic rendering that uses available data on the diameter of 2006 SX217 to create an approximate landscape rendering with Mount Everest in the background. This approximation is built for full-resolution desktop browsers. Shape, color, and texture of asteroid are imagined.