SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2021 VC4

2021 VC4

2021 VC4 is an Aten-type near-Earth asteroid whose orbit lies mostly inside that of Earth, with a semi-major axis of 0.885 AU and a period of 0.83 yr.

Aten Observations: 14
Orbital Period · P
0.83 yr
v(q)
46.5 km/s
v(Q)
21.5 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.01 km
TJ
6.64
Eccentricity · e
0.3675

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.56 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 1.211 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 0.651 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 0.885 AU gives an orbital period of 0.83 yr, or about 304 days.

An eccentricity of 0.367 makes the orbit moderately elongated.

Its inclination of 2.36° keeps it close to the plane of the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 46.5 km/s at perihelion and falls to 21.5 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 = 26.88 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 14 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.4751 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
0.8855 AU
Eccentricity
0.3675
Perihelion
0.56 AU
Aphelion
1.210921 AU
Inclination
2.36°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
274.22°

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
2027-Jun-18 16:39 0.452147 AU
67640271 km
17.19 km/s
2028-Feb-11 22:29 0.123492 AU
18474210 km
15.11 km/s
2031-Nov-04 09:33 0.017404 AU
2603643 km
12.25 km/s
2032-Jun-22 05:40 0.452790 AU
67736347 km
17.23 km/s
2033-Feb-12 15:17 0.069149 AU
10344495 km
13.76 km/s
2036-Nov-04 21:06 0.064953 AU
9716838 km
13.92 km/s
2037-Jun-28 06:27 0.453125 AU
67786494 km
17.21 km/s
2038-Feb-14 03:09 0.041598 AU
6222912 km
12.07 km/s
2041-Nov-06 16:35 0.122503 AU
18326249 km
15.51 km/s
2042-Jul-03 19:35 0.451941 AU
67609446 km
17.10 km/s
2043-Feb-14 18:18 0.041519 AU
6211095 km
10.62 km/s
2046-Nov-08 18:31 0.176818 AU
26451631 km
17.22 km/s
2047-Jul-09 21:07 0.448565 AU
67104374 km
16.84 km/s
2048-Feb-13 17:41 0.056422 AU
8440627 km
9.14 km/s
2051-Nov-11 07:54 0.242921 AU
36340507 km
19.32 km/s
2052-Jul-16 10:45 0.441644 AU
66069039 km
16.34 km/s
2053-Feb-06 05:45 0.111192 AU
16634037 km
8.01 km/s
2056-Nov-13 12:57 0.321957 AU
48164057 km
21.76 km/s
2057-Jul-25 09:19 0.430503 AU
64402294 km
15.51 km/s
2058-Jan-24 22:03 0.167775 AU
25098825 km
8.12 km/s
2061-Nov-16 22:06 0.405249 AU
60624422 km
24.30 km/s
2062-Aug-03 23:10 0.415146 AU
62104997 km
14.38 km/s
2063-Jan-12 21:35 0.205917 AU
30804758 km
8.48 km/s
2063-Apr-05 04:46 0.299352 AU
44782397 km
7.45 km/s
2066-Nov-20 11:52 0.490073 AU
73313831 km
26.89 km/s
2067-Aug-14 12:14 0.394370 AU
58996964 km
12.90 km/s
2068-Jan-01 17:51 0.225188 AU
33687654 km
8.76 km/s
2068-Apr-20 09:02 0.348452 AU
52127696 km
10.43 km/s
2072-Aug-24 10:00 0.368187 AU
55079943 km
11.16 km/s
2072-Dec-21 19:14 0.227693 AU
34062451 km
8.78 km/s
2073-May-01 17:21 0.380214 AU
56879176 km
12.32 km/s
2077-Sep-06 08:28 0.329936 AU
49357682 km
8.86 km/s
2077-Dec-11 19:38 0.216696 AU
32417306 km
8.66 km/s
2078-May-11 20:19 0.403159 AU
60311716 km
13.83 km/s
2079-Jan-30 10:23 0.456801 AU
68336427 km
25.80 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
26.88

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.47506
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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