2016 FC is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2016 FC as a "Near Earth Asteroid" due to its orbit's proximity to Earth, but it is not considered potentially hazardous because computer simulations have not indicated any imminent likelihood of future collision.
2016 FC orbits the sun every 466 days (1.28 years), coming as close as 0.89 AU and reaching as far as 1.46 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2016 FC is probably between 0.008 to 0.037 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.
2016 FC's orbit is 0.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is very close to Earth's orbit.
2016 FC has 5 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:
| Date | Distance from Earth (km) | Velocity (km/s) |
|---|---|---|
| Nov. 2, 2024 | 17,704,929 | 9.408 |
| March 27, 2030 | 21,958,868 | 10.257 |
| Nov. 18, 2038 | 4,426,878 | 5.083 |
| March 19, 2053 | 6,870,088 | 7.241 |
| Nov. 9, 2070 | 5,111,456 | 6.796 |
2016 FC's orbit is determined by observations dating back to March 16, 2016. It was last officially observed on May 8, 2016. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 109 observations used to determine its orbit.
2016 FC can be reached with a journey of 306 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 7.486 km/s. To put this into perspective, the delta-v to launch a rocket to Low-Earth Orbit is 9.7 km/s. There are 112,735 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.
See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2016 FC.
The position of 2016 FC is indicated by a ◯ pink circle. Note that the object may not be in your current field of view. Use the controls below to adjust position, location, and time.