SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2021 AX2

2021 AX2

2021 AX2 is an Amor-type near-Earth asteroid that approaches Earth from beyond our orbit without crossing it, orbiting the Sun at 1.687 AU once every 2.19 yr.

Amor Observations: 75
Orbital Period · P
2.19 yr
v(q)
30.9 km/s
v(Q)
17 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.34 km
TJ
4.02
Eccentricity · e
0.2887

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 1.2 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 2.174 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 0.974 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.687 AU gives an orbital period of 2.19 yr, or about 800 days.

An eccentricity of 0.289 makes the orbit moderately elongated.

A steep inclination of 31.08° carries it well above and below the ecliptic plane.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 30.9 km/s at perihelion and falls to 17 km/s at aphelion.

Its perihelion lies just outside Earth's orbit, which is why it is classed as Earth-approaching rather than Earth-crossing.

Size and surface

No direct size measurement is available; from an absolute magnitude of H = 20.08 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.34 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 75 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.3298 arcseconds.

Condition code U = 1 means the orbit is very well determined, leaving only a small uncertainty in the future ephemeris.

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
1.687 AU
Eccentricity
0.2887
Perihelion
1.2 AU
Aphelion
2.174037 AU
Inclination
31.08°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
209.89°

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
2044-Aug-10 14:19 0.443775 AU
66387826 km
15.37 km/s
2055-Aug-16 12:58 0.452617 AU
67710529 km
16.41 km/s
2066-Dec-30 06:30 0.490114 AU
73320001 km
16.08 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
20.08

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.32977
Condition
1
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.

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