(6178) 1986 DA is a metallic asteroid, classified as near-Earth object of the Amor group, approximately 3 kilometers in diameter.
It was discovered on 16 February 1986, by Japanese astronomer Minoru Kizawa at Shizuoka Observatory, Japan.
[1] The first precovery was taken at Siding Spring Observatory in 1977, extending the asteroid's observation arc by 9 years prior to its discovery.
Radar measurements suggest it is composed of nickel and iron and that it was derived from the center of a much larger object that experienced melting and differentiation.
[citation needed] Several lightcurve analysis gave it a concurring rotation period of 3.50 to 3.51 hours with a relatively high brightness amplitude between 0.03 and 0.48 in magnitude, indicating an irregular shape (U=3/3/n.a.).