2010 AO60

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 2010 AO60

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 21,044,320 km of Earth in 2023
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2010 AO60 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2010 AO60 as a "Near Earth Asteroid" due to its orbit's proximity to Earth, but it is not considered potentially hazardous because computer simulations have not indicated any imminent likelihood of future collision.

2010 AO60 orbits the sun every 339 days (0.93 years), coming as close as 0.72 AU and reaching as far as 1.19 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2010 AO60 is probably between 0.119 to 0.265 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

Close Approaches

2010 AO60's orbit is 0.08 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.

2010 AO60 has 25 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Jan. 25, 2023 21,044,320 7.680
Jan. 28, 2036 22,284,666 7.693
Jan. 26, 2049 22,006,819 7.679
Jan. 29, 2062 22,981,606 7.682
Jan. 9, 2074 27,241,121 13.160
Feb. 13, 2075 29,771,708 7.834
May 26, 2076 27,525,676 8.243
Jan. 9, 2087 21,730,989 11.971
May 23, 2089 27,628,023 8.751
Jan. 9, 2100 22,100,663 12.049
May 25, 2102 27,544,333 8.631
Jan. 10, 2113 22,851,785 12.208
May 26, 2115 27,526,023 8.591
Jan. 10, 2126 15,631,510 10.516
May 18, 2128 29,841,902 10.305
Jan. 10, 2139 15,170,984 10.410
May 19, 2141 29,205,541 10.019
Jan. 10, 2152 19,958,538 11.607
May 25, 2154 27,538,679 8.867
Jan. 10, 2165 25,668,126 12.870
May 30, 2167 27,356,048 8.184
Jan. 10, 2178 23,262,403 12.354
May 28, 2180 27,241,700 8.399
Feb. 9, 2192 27,639,898 7.765
June 8, 2193 28,244,387 7.858

Images and Observations

2010 AO60's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Jan. 15, 2010. It was last officially observed on Feb. 19, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 251 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 2010 AO60:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.9515 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.2484
  • Inclination: 11.06°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 309.93°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 37.32°
  • Mean Anomaly: 5.57°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.153 km
  • Magnitude: 21.75

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 339 days (0.93 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 30.54 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.19 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.72 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2010 AO60 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 2010 AO60 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.