612267 (2001 SG286)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 612267 (2001 SG286)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 18,542,203 km of Earth in 2020
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

612267 (2001 SG286) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2001 SG286 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2001 SG286 orbits the sun every 578 days (1.58 years), coming as close as 0.89 AU and reaching as far as 1.83 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2001 SG286 is probably between 0.175 to 0.391 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

2001 SG286's spectral type None (Tholen) / D (SMASSII) indicates that it is likely to contain .

Close Approaches

2001 SG286'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.

2001 SG286 has 16 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Sept. 20, 2020 18,542,203 8.906
May 15, 2028 7,140,054 11.057
Aug. 17, 2039 24,967,867 7.177
June 12, 2058 16,858,927 7.647
Sept. 26, 2069 19,945,198 10.845
May 17, 2077 5,304,216 10.730
July 16, 2088 25,050,901 7.845
Sept. 27, 2099 19,622,274 10.727
May 12, 2107 17,563,339 12.990
June 23, 2118 20,219,720 7.633
Sept. 21, 2129 18,713,233 8.399
June 3, 2148 12,175,617 7.950
Sept. 16, 2159 20,440,120 7.416
June 9, 2178 15,105,197 7.689
Sept. 23, 2189 18,158,656 8.921
May 12, 2197 19,800,482 13.422

Images and Observations

2001 SG286's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 27, 2001. It was last officially observed on Nov. 14, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 214 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 2001 SG286:

References

Search

   or view a random object

Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.358 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3472
  • Inclination: 7.77°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 241.11°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 56.29°
  • Mean Anomaly: 347.53°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.226 km
  • Magnitude: 20.91
  • Spectral type (SMASS): D

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 578 days (1.58 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 25.56 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.83 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.89 AU
  • Approx. Composition: .

Map Comparison

Click to load map

Orbit Simulation

⧉

Sky Map

The position of 612267 (2001 SG286) 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 2001 SG286 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.