513171 (2004 MD6)

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 513171 (2004 MD6)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 15,599,979 km of Earth in 2029
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

513171 (2004 MD6) is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2004 MD6 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2004 MD6 orbits the sun every 339 days (0.93 years), coming as close as 0.42 AU and reaching as far as 1.49 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2004 MD6 is probably between 0.213 to 0.476 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2004 MD6'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.

2004 MD6 has 14 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
June 19, 2029 15,599,979 24.114
June 16, 2042 1,454,229 21.570
June 14, 2055 11,933,811 19.723
June 12, 2068 26,364,587 17.868
June 20, 2080 19,531,521 24.820
June 17, 2093 7,559,902 22.727
June 17, 2106 2,093,160 21.338
June 14, 2119 20,212,085 18.620
June 22, 2131 21,663,524 25.199
June 17, 2144 2,291,504 21.764
June 16, 2157 6,213,815 20.628
June 14, 2170 19,490,586 18.719
June 24, 2182 26,637,490 26.106
June 20, 2195 11,093,401 23.348

Images and Observations

2004 MD6's orbit is determined by observations dating back to June 23, 2004. It was last officially observed on Oct. 11, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 174 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 2004 MD6:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.9509 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.563
  • Inclination: 29.32°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 263.84°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 231.46°
  • Mean Anomaly: 342.04°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.275 km
  • Magnitude: 20.48

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 339 days (0.93 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 30.52 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.49 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.42 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 513171 (2004 MD6) 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 2004 MD6 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.