461852 (2006 GY2)

Small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 461852 (2006 GY2)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge
  • Will pass within 4,290,449 km of Earth in 2044
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

461852 (2006 GY2) is a small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2006 GY2 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2006 GY2 orbits the sun every 925 days (2.53 years), coming as close as 0.94 AU and reaching as far as 2.78 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2006 GY2 is probably between 0.441 to 0.986 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than ~97% of asteroids but small compared to large asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge.

The rotation of 2006 GY2 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 2.25 hours.

Close Approaches

2006 GY2'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 GY2 has 4 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
May 12, 2044 4,290,449 19.879
May 8, 2087 17,529,995 21.187
May 20, 2135 10,001,628 18.812
May 20, 2178 10,904,509 18.753

Images and Observations

2006 GY2's orbit is determined by observations dating back to April 9, 2006. It was last officially observed on June 16, 2016. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 308 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 GY2:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.858 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4959
  • Inclination: 30.56°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 54.29°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 216.72°
  • Mean Anomaly: 291.76°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.569 km
  • Magnitude: 18.9

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 925 days (2.53 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 21.85 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.78 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.94 AU
  • Rotation Period: 2.25 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 461852 (2006 GY2) 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 GY2 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.