66400 (1999 LT7)

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 66400 (1999 LT7)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building (0.41 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 25,306,339 km of Earth in 2021
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

66400 (1999 LT7) is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 1999 LT7 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.

1999 LT7 orbits the sun every 289 days (0.79 years), coming as close as 0.37 AU and reaching as far as 1.35 AU from the sun. 1999 LT7 is about 0.4 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 90% of asteroids but tiny compared to large asteroids, comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building.

Close Approaches

1999 LT7's orbit is 0.06 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is a wide berth between this asteroid and Earth at all times.

1999 LT7 has 29 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
April 11, 2021 25,306,339 13.683
July 2, 2022 11,787,889 18.081
April 11, 2036 23,929,232 18.721
June 30, 2037 20,465,213 13.571
June 30, 2041 17,818,302 19.629
April 11, 2055 22,171,142 17.919
July 1, 2056 17,731,999 13.981
June 29, 2060 20,398,112 20.224
April 11, 2074 21,533,162 17.546
July 2, 2075 16,271,753 14.232
June 30, 2079 22,374,976 20.667
April 10, 2093 20,543,769 16.520
July 3, 2094 12,377,131 15.045
June 28, 2098 29,026,809 22.150
April 11, 2112 23,213,444 14.245
July 3, 2113 10,108,007 17.419
April 12, 2127 20,845,039 17.090
July 3, 2128 13,456,959 14.778
April 14, 2142 27,228,779 19.921
July 1, 2143 23,731,410 13.186
April 15, 2146 29,204,885 12.956
July 2, 2147 18,521,773 19.740
April 12, 2161 22,304,539 14.557
July 4, 2162 9,673,418 17.133
April 12, 2176 20,906,863 17.222
July 4, 2177 14,229,960 14.632
June 29, 2181 28,551,195 22.018
April 13, 2195 22,719,961 14.399
July 4, 2196 9,798,196 17.119

Images and Observations

1999 LT7's orbit is determined by observations dating back to April 21, 1987. It was last officially observed on June 15, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 602 observations used to determine its orbit.

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 1999 LT7:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.8554 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5725
  • Inclination: 9.06°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 79.8°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 341.4°
  • Mean Anomaly: 108.96°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 0.41100 km
  • Magnitude: 19.29
  • Albedo: 0.182

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 289 days (0.79 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 32.20 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.35 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.37 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 66400 (1999 LT7) 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.

Size Rendering

The below comparison is an artistic rendering that uses available data on the diameter of 1999 LT7 to create an approximate landscape rendering with New York City in the background. This approximation is built for full-resolution desktop browsers. Shape, color, and texture of asteroid are imagined.