6476 (1987 VT)

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Main-belt Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the city of Cleveland, Ohio (14.24 km diameter)
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

6476 (1987 VT) is a large asteroid orbiting between Mars and Jupiter in the main portion of the asteroid belt. NASA JPL has not classified 1987 VT as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.

1987 VT orbits the sun every 1,700 days (4.65 years), coming as close as 2.29 AU and reaching as far as 3.28 AU from the sun. 1987 VT is about 14.2 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the city of Cleveland, Ohio.

The rotation of 1987 VT has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 10.80 hours.

No Close Approaches

1987 VT's orbit is 1.36 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is an extremely wide berth between this asteroid and Earth at all times.

Orbital simulations conducted by NASA JPL's CNEOS do not show any close approaches to Earth.

Images and Observations

1987 VT's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Feb. 21, 1980. It was last officially observed on July 5, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 3,688 observations used to determine its orbit.

Scientists have been able to determine this object's shape:

View asteroid 6476 (1987 VT) in 3D.

Accessibility and Exploration

This asteroid is not considered a viable target for human exploration by the NHATS study.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 1987 VT:

• 28 Bellona (A854 EA)
• 68 Leto (A861 HB)
• 74 Galatea (A862 QA)

References

• JPL Small Body Database
• Mission Design
• Sky Finder Chart

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 6476 (1987 VT) 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.