Asteroid (PHA/NEO) 879537 (2014 AF51) 19 March 2026 Close Approach and Profile by Astrophyzix Digital Observatory

Close Approach Data and Official NEO Profile
Written by: Astrophyzix Digital Observatory

📌 Cited by NewsBreak

2026 Close Approach to Earth

Asteroid 879537 (2014 AF51) will make a notable close approach to Earth on 19 March 2026 at 21:10 TDB. This object is classified as an Amor-type Near-Earth Object (NEO) and a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA), although its orbit remains safely exterior to Earth's path at perihelion, and no impact risk is associated with this encounter.

Parameter	Value	Units
Close Approach Date (TDB)	2026-03-19 21:10	UTC / TDB
Nominal Distance from Earth	0.11658	AU (~17.4 million km)
Relative Velocity	8.94	km/s
Minimum Orbit Intersection Distance (MOID)	0.0222536	AU
Classification	Amor, NEO, PHA	—

Although classified as potentially hazardous due to its size and orbital proximity thresholds, this March 2026 approach occurs at a distance more than 45 times the average Earth–Moon separation, placing it well outside any collision scenario. Its Amor-type orbit ensures that it does not currently cross Earth's orbital path, instead approaching from just beyond 1 AU at perihelion.

This encounter provides an opportunity for continued optical tracking to refine its orbital solution. With a condition code of 0 and an observational arc spanning over a decade, 2014 AF51 is a well-characterised object with highly constrained trajectory predictions.

For real-time ephemerides and ongoing updates, consult the NASA JPL Small-Body Database entry for 879537 (2014 AF51).

Asteroid Profile: 879537 (2014 AF51)

This profile presents detailed observational and orbital data for asteroid 879537 (2014 AF51), sourced from the NASA JPL Small-Body Database. This object is classified as an Amor-type Near-Earth Object (NEO) and a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA).

Discovery & Identification

Parameter	Value
Designation	879537 (2014 AF51)
Discovery Date	2014-01-10
Discoverer	Mount Lemmon Survey
Discovery Site	Mount Lemmon
Classification	Amor, NEO, PHA
SPKID	20879537

Osculating Orbital Elements (Epoch 2025-Nov-21.0 TDB)

Element	Value	Units
Eccentricity (e)	0.4298082717249494	—
Semi-major Axis (a)	1.786269530288486	au
Perihelion (q)	1.018516110640255	au
Aphelion (Q)	2.554022949936718	au
Inclination (i)	2.796223159072428	deg
Longitude of Ascending Node (Ω)	237.6306537198951	deg
Argument of Perihelion (ω)	330.2763787338866	deg
Mean Anomaly (M)	302.3082471547257	deg
Time of Perihelion (tp)	2461140.2430267967	TDB
Orbital Period	872.00	days (~2.39 years)
Mean Motion (n)	0.412841729335071	deg/day
Earth MOID	0.0222536	au
Jupiter MOID	2.41254	au
Tisserand Parameter (Jupiter)	3.970	—

Physical Parameters

Parameter	Value	Units
Absolute Magnitude (H)	20.46	mag

Observational & Solution Data

Parameter	Value
Solution Date	2026-Mar-14
Observations Used	212
Data Arc Span	4445 days (12.17 years)
First Observation	2014-01-10
Last Observation	2026-03-13
Condition Code	0 (well constrained orbit)
RMS Residual	0.44984

2026 Close Approach to Earth

Asteroid 879537 (2014 AF51) will pass Earth on 19 March 2026 at 21:10 TDB. This encounter occurs at a safe distance and poses no impact threat.

Parameter	Value	Units
Nominal Distance	0.11658	au (~17.4 million km)
Relative Velocity	8.94	km/s

Selected Close Approach History

Date	Distance (au)	Velocity (km/s)
1983-05-07	0.03145	6.30
1933-04-03	0.05157	6.38
2026-03-19	0.11658	8.94
2107-05-11	0.02320	6.58

Sources

*All information is correct at the time of publication and will be updated in accordance with new official data releases.