506732 (2006 VW2)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 506732 (2006 VW2)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 28,454,463 km of Earth in 2029
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

506732 (2006 VW2) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2006 VW2 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2006 VW2 orbits the sun every 502 days (1.37 years), coming as close as 0.87 AU and reaching as far as 1.60 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2006 VW2 is probably between 0.145 to 0.324 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2006 VW2's orbit is 0.02 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 VW2 has 19 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
March 7, 2029 28,454,463 7.035
Dec. 27, 2039 27,930,812 6.004
Feb. 7, 2040 28,403,636 5.750
Dec. 30, 2050 23,352,934 6.902
Dec. 29, 2061 21,064,348 8.359
Dec. 27, 2072 22,478,718 10.009
Dec. 25, 2083 28,458,373 12.113
May 27, 2088 25,263,007 13.384
May 24, 2099 15,520,446 11.638
May 22, 2110 10,927,907 10.829
May 24, 2121 14,416,158 11.439
May 28, 2132 23,534,034 13.052
Dec. 27, 2138 27,843,497 11.869
Dec. 30, 2149 22,536,061 9.838
Dec. 31, 2160 21,506,450 8.163
Jan. 2, 2172 23,811,528 6.791
Dec. 30, 2182 27,980,635 5.946
Feb. 10, 2183 28,256,296 5.859
March 9, 2194 28,220,985 7.089

Images and Observations

2006 VW2's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 11, 2006. It was last officially observed on Nov. 7, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 153 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 VW2:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.236 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.2945
  • Inclination: 10.05°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 229.77°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 299.7°
  • Mean Anomaly: 3.07°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.187 km
  • Magnitude: 21.32

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 502 days (1.37 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 26.79 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.60 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.87 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 506732 (2006 VW2) 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 VW2 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.