In this video you will learn about asteroid 2021 PH27. It is interesting because it has the lowest value of orbit major semi-axis (a) among all known asteroids (0.46 AU). For this reason, it has the shortest period of rotation around the Sun (114 days and 14 hours) among all known asteroids.
The perihelion of asteroid 2021 PH27 is located at a distance of 0.133 AU from the Sun, which means that it passes only 19 million km from the surface of the Sun. This distance is approximately 28 solar radii. At perihelion, the asteroid heats up to almost 1000 °C. And its speed relative to the Sun at this moment reaches an impressive 106 km/s. At such approaches to the Sun, relativistic effects also turn out to be very significant.
The size of asteroid 2021 PH27 exceeds 1 km. It does not pose a threat to the Earth, as it does not have close approaches to it. Despite the large inclination of the orbit to the ecliptic plane, asteroid 2021 PH27 can sometimes approach Venus.
Modeling and rendering were performed by author of this publication using own software. The calculations took into account the mutual influence of the Sun, all the planets of the Solar System, the Moon and the asteroid on each other. Relativistic effects were also taken into account in the calculation.
The track Zwetschge by Andy G. Cohen sounds in this video. This track was not changed. CC BY 4.0 DEED (Attribution 4.0 International) license.
