2021 AV₇ is a near-Earth asteroid of the Apollo group, discovered by astronomers Alain Maury and G. Attard at San Pedro de Atacama, Chile on 15 January 2021. With an estimated diameter of 440–1,000 m (1,440–3,280 ft), it is considered a potentially hazardous asteroid. It has a highly elliptical orbit that brings it within Earth's orbit. However, its nominal orbit has a minimum orbit intersection distance around 2.6×10^⁶ km (1.6×10^⁶ mi) from Earth's orbital path, and the closest approach the asteroid is expected to make over the next two centuries is to within 0.140 astronomical units (20.9×10^⁶ km; 13.0×10^⁶ mi) on 28 February 2096.^[4]

2021 AV₇ was discovered by astronomers Alain Maury and G. Attard at San Pedro de Atacama, Chile on 15 January 2021. It was first observed in the constellation Canis Major at an apparent magnitude of 19.8.^[1] The asteroid was moving at an on-sky rate of 1.15 arcseconds per minute, from a distance of 0.656 AU (98.1 million km; 61.0 million mi) from Earth.^[7]

The asteroid was subsequently listed on the Minor Planet Center's Near-Earth Object Confirmation Page (NEOCP) as 11E401.^[3] Over three days, follow-up observations were carried out by various observatories including Spacewatch (691) at Kitt Peak and the Steward Observatory (I52) at Mount Lemmon. The listing was confirmed and publicly announced as 2021 AV₇ on 18 January 2021.^[1]

With a long observation arc spanning over five years, the orbit of 2021 AV₇ is well-secured with a condition code of 0.^[4] The earliest known precovery observations of 2021 AV₇ are from Pan-STARRS 1 on 9 July 2016. These precovery observations were published by the Minor Planet Center on 30 April 2021.^[8]

2021 AV₇ orbits the Sun at an average distance of 3.07 AU once every 5.38 years. Its orbit has a high eccentricity of 0.7 and an inclination of 28° with respect to the ecliptic plane. Over the course of its orbit, its distance from the Sun ranges from 0.91 AU at perihelion to 5.2 AU at aphelion, crossing the orbits of Earth, Mars, and Jupiter.^[4] Since its orbit crosses that of Earth's while having a semi-major axis greater than 1 AU, 2021 AV₇ is classified as an Apollo asteroid. Its nominal orbit has a minimum orbit intersection distance around 2.6×10^⁶ km (1.6×10^⁶ mi) from Earth's orbital path. Its closest recent approach to Earth occurred on 17 March 2021, at a distance of 0.276 AU (41.3 million km; 25.7 million mi), and the closest approach it is expected to make over the next two centuries is to within 0.140 AU (20.9 million km; 13.0 million mi) on 28 February 2096.^[4]

Based on an magnitude-to-diameter conversion and a measured absolute magnitude of 18.9, 2021 AV₇ measures between 440 and 1,000 meters in diameter for an assumed geometric albedo of 0.25 and 0.05, respectively.^[2][5]

• MAP program discoveries, Alain Maury, San Pedro de Atacama Celestial Explorations, 10 February 2021
• 2021 AV7 at NeoDyS-2, Near Earth Objects—Dynamic Site
  • Ephemerides · Observation prediction · Orbital info · MOID · Proper elements · Observational info · Close approaches · Physical info · Orbit animation
• 2021 AV7 at ESA–space situational awareness
  • Ephemerides · Observations · Orbit · Physical properties · Summary
• 2021 AV7 at the JPL Small-Body Database
  • Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit viewer · Orbit parameters · Physical parameters