NASA SBDB Data · Astrophyzix Scientific Close‑Approach & Orbital Report
Asteroid 2021 KN2 — Elite‑Tier NEO Close‑Approach & Orbital Profile · JPL SBDB Solution JPL 3
✅ Data aligned with: JPL SBDB, CNEOS CAD, NASA Horizons - Last verified against JPL SBDB: 31 May 2026 13:42 UTC
Key Takeaways of Asteroid 2021 KN2
- NASA JPL Solution: Solution JPL 3 · Epoch 2461000.5 (2025‑Nov‑21.0 TDB) · SPK‑ID 54149826 · Producer: Otto Matic
- Orbit class: Apollo NEO — a = 1.4064 au, e = 0.3718, i = 3.77°, orbital period 609.23 days (1.67 years).
- Earth MOID: 0.001331 au (~199,000 km), placing the nominal orbit well inside the Earth–Moon system, but with no impact solutions in current JPL or CNEOS catalogues.
- Size estimate: Absolute magnitude H = 28.63 → approximate diameter ~5–12 m (albedo‑dependent), firmly in the small NEO regime.
- Rotation: Extremely fast rotation period of 0.021007 h (~75.6 seconds), based on LCDB data, suggesting a cohesive or monolithic body rather than a loose rubble pile.
- Orbit quality: Condition code 6, based on 65 observations over a 1‑day data arc (2021‑05‑30 to 2021‑05‑31), with a normalised RMS of 0.23451 — a short‑arc, moderately uncertain orbit.
- Recent close approach: On 2021‑05‑31, 2021 KN2 passed Earth at a nominal distance of 0.00097 au (~145,000 km) and the Moon at 0.00306 au, a close but non‑impacting flyby.
- Risk context: Not a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid — too small (H > 22) and no impact geometry in current solutions.
- Ignore clickbait and sensational claims about “mystery asteroids nearly hitting Earth” — the official data show 2021 KN2 as a small, well‑tracked, non‑hazardous NEO.