SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2021 QF

2021 QF

2021 QF is an Aten-type near-Earth asteroid whose orbit lies mostly inside that of Earth, with a semi-major axis of 0.805 AU and a period of 0.72 yr.

Aten Observations: 41
Orbital Period · P
0.72 yr
v(q)
50.6 km/s
v(Q)
21.8 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.05 km
TJ
7.17
Eccentricity · e
0.3989

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.484 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 1.127 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 0.643 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 0.805 AU gives an orbital period of 0.72 yr, or about 264 days.

An eccentricity of 0.399 makes the orbit moderately elongated.

The orbital plane is tilted 8.64° relative to the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 50.6 km/s at perihelion and falls to 21.8 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 = 24.12 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.05 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 41 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.3977 arcseconds.

Condition code U = 6 indicates a moderately constrained orbit; predictions decades ahead still carry noticeable uncertainty.

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
0.8055 AU
Eccentricity
0.3989
Perihelion
0.484 AU
Aphelion
1.126814 AU
Inclination
8.64°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
77.93°

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
2026-Dec-08 04:00 0.426064 AU
63738284 km
13.19 km/s
2029-Mar-20 19:01 0.465891 AU
69696261 km
17.41 km/s
2029-Sep-11 10:48 0.168658 AU
25230848 km
15.08 km/s
2031-Jul-13 19:36 0.337494 AU
50488324 km
20.21 km/s
2032-Jan-17 02:14 0.492040 AU
73608081 km
20.10 km/s
2034-Aug-21 02:54 0.100002 AU
14960053 km
8.51 km/s
2037-Feb-19 23:14 0.496944 AU
74341721 km
20.82 km/s
2037-Sep-01 16:50 0.421110 AU
62997234 km
23.90 km/s
2039-Jul-08 01:06 0.114536 AU
17134286 km
11.68 km/s
2039-Dec-18 02:04 0.441604 AU
66063035 km
15.29 km/s
2042-Mar-29 22:13 0.444217 AU
66453862 km
15.80 km/s
2042-Sep-12 21:58 0.082599 AU
12356606 km
12.72 km/s
2044-Jul-16 02:02 0.389065 AU
58203342 km
22.67 km/s
2045-Jan-24 06:07 0.496849 AU
74327625 km
20.76 km/s
2047-Aug-08 10:27 0.118016 AU
17654957 km
8.49 km/s
2050-Feb-28 01:30 0.489878 AU
73284762 km
20.23 km/s
2050-Sep-05 02:29 0.330264 AU
49406736 km
21.43 km/s
2052-Jul-07 12:57 0.144812 AU
21663613 km
13.95 km/s
2052-Dec-26 06:23 0.457234 AU
68401267 km
17.04 km/s
2055-Apr-08 09:06 0.419692 AU
62785096 km
13.96 km/s
2055-Sep-12 07:11 0.054868 AU
8208076 km
10.67 km/s
2057-Jul-19 06:53 0.444070 AU
66431912 km
24.94 km/s
2060-Jul-27 06:12 0.113104 AU
16920156 km
8.55 km/s
2063-Mar-06 19:19 0.481387 AU
72014488 km
19.55 km/s
2063-Sep-07 17:44 0.254670 AU
38098089 km
19.46 km/s
2065-Jul-09 00:44 0.173432 AU
25944994 km
15.76 km/s
2066-Jan-01 21:28 0.466425 AU
69776243 km
18.14 km/s
2068-Apr-14 17:28 0.395013 AU
59093139 km
12.45 km/s
2068-Sep-08 17:18 0.054583 AU
8165460 km
9.53 km/s
2076-Sep-08 22:06 0.167204 AU
25013355 km
17.72 km/s
2078-Jul-10 19:27 0.179270 AU
26818462 km
17.46 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
24.12

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.39767
Condition
6
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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