374855 (2006 VQ13)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 374855 (2006 VQ13)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 18,063,287 km of Earth in 2021
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

374855 (2006 VQ13) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2006 VQ13 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2006 VQ13 orbits the sun every 421 days (1.15 years), coming as close as 0.61 AU and reaching as far as 1.59 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2006 VQ13 is probably between 0.253 to 0.565 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 90% of asteroids but tiny compared to large asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2006 VQ13's orbit is 0.01 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

2006 VQ13 has 14 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Nov. 10, 2021 18,063,287 13.555
April 20, 2027 19,965,747 17.067
April 14, 2042 26,020,061 19.496
Nov. 19, 2059 17,806,656 19.741
Nov. 17, 2074 10,390,188 18.383
Nov. 18, 2089 14,606,302 19.153
Nov. 22, 2104 24,964,111 21.115
April 15, 2117 25,872,778 19.527
April 17, 2132 21,841,454 18.289
Nov. 10, 2141 29,832,044 11.859
April 17, 2147 22,789,334 18.645
Nov. 22, 2164 24,663,729 21.057
Nov. 19, 2179 8,614,506 18.061
Nov. 16, 2194 887,276 16.442

Images and Observations

2006 VQ13's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 23, 1998. It was last officially observed on Jan. 30, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 603 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 VQ13:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.099 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4457
  • Inclination: 16.7°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 233.68°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 73.81°
  • Mean Anomaly: 269.13°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.326 km
  • Magnitude: 20.11

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 421 days (1.15 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 28.40 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.59 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.61 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 374855 (2006 VQ13) 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 2006 VQ13 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.