SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2021 AX1

2021 AX1

2021 AX1 belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 1.267 AU it takes 1.43 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 27
Orbital Period · P
1.43 yr
v(q)
37.8 km/s
v(Q)
18.5 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.01 km
TJ
5.03
Eccentricity · e
0.3417

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.834 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 1.7 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 0.866 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.267 AU gives an orbital period of 1.43 yr, or about 521 days.

An eccentricity of 0.342 makes the orbit moderately elongated.

Its inclination of 2.58° keeps it close to the plane of the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 37.8 km/s at perihelion and falls to 18.5 km/s at aphelion.

Because q < 1 AU and Q > 1 AU, this orbit geometrically intersects the region of Earth's orbit.

Size and surface

No direct size measurement is available; from an absolute magnitude of H = 27.52 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.01 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 27 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.3752 arcseconds.

Condition code U = 7 signals a poorly constrained orbit, so its future path should be treated as provisional.

About these computed values

Orbital periods, perihelion and aphelion speeds, and diameter estimates on this page are computed by SpaceAtlas from the JPL SBDB orbital elements. They are derived quantities, not values copied from the source catalogue.

Orbital Parameters

Semi-Major Axis
1.267 AU
Eccentricity
0.3417
Perihelion
0.834 AU
Aphelion
1.699934 AU
Inclination
2.58°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
249.74°

Orbit diagram

The Sun sits at the focus (orange). Earth's orbit is the grey circle at 1 AU. The red dot marks the object's position at the catalog epoch.

3D orbit (interactive)

Drag to rotate; scroll or pinch to zoom. The Sun is at the focus (orange), Earth's orbit is the grey ring at 1 AU, and the red dot marks the object's current position.

Close approaches

Predicted close approaches to Earth, from NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS).

Date (UTC)Miss distanceVelocity
2028-Jun-15 19:36 0.181190 AU
27105675 km
15.77 km/s
2031-Jan-05 20:10 0.019755 AU
2955381 km
11.91 km/s
2038-Jun-09 21:02 0.038311 AU
5731261 km
12.36 km/s
2040-Dec-29 06:31 0.131666 AU
19696993 km
15.83 km/s
2047-Nov-18 03:22 0.459208 AU
68696579 km
8.35 km/s
2048-May-31 21:16 0.031414 AU
4699395 km
8.94 km/s
2050-Dec-23 15:04 0.198282 AU
29662541 km
19.55 km/s

Distances in astronomical units (AU) and kilometres. Source: NASA/JPL CNEOS Close Approach Data API.

Physical Parameters

Diameter
— km
Albedo
—
Density
— g/cm³
Rotation Period
— h
Absolute Magnitude
27.52

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.37522
Condition
7
Orbit ID
—
Data source: NASA JPL Small-Body Database · NASA CNEOS. Orbital periods, perihelion and aphelion speeds, and diameter estimates on this page are computed by SpaceAtlas from the JPL SBDB orbital elements. They are derived quantities, not values copied from the source catalogue.

Keep exploring

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