163026 (2001 XR30)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 163026 (2001 XR30)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 9,089,763 km of Earth in 2030
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

163026 (2001 XR30) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2001 XR30 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2001 XR30 orbits the sun every 540 days (1.48 years), coming as close as 0.82 AU and reaching as far as 1.77 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2001 XR30 is probably between 0.150 to 0.336 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2001 XR30's orbit is 0.02 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is a wide berth between this asteroid and Earth at all times.

2001 XR30 has 12 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
May 29, 2030 9,089,763 10.235
Jan. 6, 2036 20,698,945 11.151
May 30, 2061 7,486,651 10.505
Jan. 5, 2067 20,991,571 11.735
June 9, 2089 11,401,413 13.307
April 25, 2092 29,390,253 9.043
Jan. 8, 2095 26,596,511 8.451
May 28, 2120 10,452,912 10.054
Jan. 4, 2126 23,275,376 12.982
June 3, 2148 4,416,746 11.147
Jan. 6, 2154 21,562,093 12.074
May 25, 2176 14,181,686 9.593

Images and Observations

2001 XR30's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 11, 2001. It was last officially observed on Sept. 30, 2014. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 69 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

This asteroid is not considered a viable target for human exploration by the NHATS study.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2001 XR30:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.297 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3652
  • Inclination: 11.86°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 247.85°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 294.48°
  • Mean Anomaly: 199.23°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.194 km
  • Magnitude: 21.24

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 540 days (1.48 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 26.13 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.77 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.82 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 163026 (2001 XR30) is indicated by a ◯ pink circle. Note that the object may not be in your current field of view. Use the controls below to adjust position, location, and time.

Size Rendering

The below comparison is an artistic rendering that uses available data on the diameter of 2001 XR30 to create an approximate landscape rendering with New York City in the background. This approximation is built for full-resolution desktop browsers. Shape, color, and texture of asteroid are imagined.