496860 (1999 XL136)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 496860 (1999 XL136)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building
  • Will pass within 13,396,272 km of Earth in 2022
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

496860 (1999 XL136) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 1999 XL136 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

1999 XL136 orbits the sun every 897 days (2.46 years), coming as close as 0.64 AU and reaching as far as 3.00 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 1999 XL136 is probably between 0.309 to 0.692 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 90% of asteroids but tiny compared to large asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building.

Close Approaches

1999 XL136'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.

1999 XL136 has 12 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Jan. 7, 2022 13,396,272 16.762
June 10, 2039 24,876,066 14.556
Dec. 26, 2048 18,249,289 22.640
June 30, 2061 17,338,387 22.495
Jan. 14, 2071 25,623,468 14.388
June 29, 2110 11,275,188 21.264
Jan. 18, 2120 27,778,775 13.902
June 18, 2137 13,842,921 16.607
Dec. 31, 2146 10,846,992 21.015
July 3, 2159 19,693,428 22.962
June 13, 2186 21,983,356 15.106
Dec. 29, 2195 19,379,924 22.699

Images and Observations

1999 XL136's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 12, 1999. It was last officially observed on Aug. 1, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 302 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 1999 XL136:

References

Search

   or view a random object

Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.82 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.6468
  • Inclination: 8.91°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 270.05°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 275.37°
  • Mean Anomaly: 227.81°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.399 km
  • Magnitude: 19.67

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 897 days (2.46 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 22.07 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 3.00 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.64 AU

Map Comparison

Click to load map

Orbit Simulation

⧉

Sky Map

The position of 496860 (1999 XL136) 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 1999 XL136 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.