SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2021 GL7

2021 GL7

2021 GL7 is an Aten-type near-Earth asteroid whose orbit lies mostly inside that of Earth, with a semi-major axis of 0.961 AU and a period of 0.94 yr.

Aten Observations: 39
Orbital Period · P
0.94 yr
v(q)
56.7 km/s
v(Q)
16.3 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.06 km
TJ
6.13
Eccentricity · e
0.5538

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.429 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 1.494 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 1.065 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 0.961 AU gives an orbital period of 0.94 yr, or about 344 days.

The high eccentricity (0.554) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

Its inclination of 4.43° keeps it close to the plane of the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 56.7 km/s at perihelion and falls to 16.3 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 = 24 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.06 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 39 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.4065 arcseconds.

Condition code U = 8 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
0.9612 AU
Eccentricity
0.5538
Perihelion
0.429 AU
Aphelion
1.493513 AU
Inclination
4.43°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2459315.5
Mean Anomaly
288.0°

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
2031-Jan-10 16:25 0.154721 AU
23145932 km
28.13 km/s
2031-Dec-29 04:51 0.068185 AU
10200320 km
17.21 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
24.0

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.40648
Condition
8
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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