2010 LK34

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2010 LK34

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller (0.11 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 3,935,110 km of Earth in 2023
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2010 LK34 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2010 LK34 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2010 LK34 orbits the sun every 903 days (2.47 years), coming as close as 0.35 AU and reaching as far as 3.31 AU from the sun. Its orbit is highly elliptical. 2010 LK34 is about 0.1 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2010 LK34's orbit is 0.01 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

2010 LK34 has 8 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Feb. 3, 2023 3,935,110 26.887
June 11, 2062 12,483,604 29.014
Feb. 6, 2070 6,627,635 28.885
June 17, 2109 10,988,478 26.558
Feb. 13, 2117 26,499,663 32.960
Feb. 1, 2122 16,435,121 24.296
June 12, 2161 14,106,069 29.724
Feb. 9, 2169 9,520,572 29.413

Images and Observations

2010 LK34's orbit is determined by observations dating back to May 26, 2010. It was last officially observed on Feb. 19, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 163 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 LK34:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.829 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.8075
  • Inclination: 5.32°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 130.1°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 249.27°
  • Mean Anomaly: 105.53°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 0.10800 km
  • Magnitude: 21.91
  • Albedo: 0.271

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 903 days (2.47 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 22.04 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 3.31 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.35 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2010 LK34 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 LK34 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.