2010 MU112

Small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2010 MU112

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge (0.60 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 15,286,407 km of Earth in 2068
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2010 MU112 is a small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2010 MU112 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2010 MU112 orbits the sun every 850 days (2.33 years), coming as close as 0.81 AU and reaching as far as 2.70 AU from the sun. 2010 MU112 is about 0.6 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than ~97% of asteroids but small compared to large asteroids, comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge.

Close Approaches

2010 MU112's orbit is 0.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is very close to Earth's orbit.

2010 MU112 has 7 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Dec. 17, 2068 15,286,407 30.664
Dec. 14, 2075 2,996,548 29.438
Dec. 13, 2082 1,033,242 29.247
Dec. 19, 2089 23,249,727 31.528
Dec. 6, 2164 27,749,623 27.031
Dec. 13, 2171 5,509,481 28.651
Dec. 17, 2178 12,294,221 30.288

Images and Observations

2010 MU112's orbit is determined by observations dating back to June 29, 2010. It was last officially observed on Jan. 29, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 57 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 MU112:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.756 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.54
  • Inclination: 48.04°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 261.1°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 119.21°
  • Mean Anomaly: 215.83°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 0.59900 km
  • Magnitude: 20.79
  • Albedo: 0.028

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 850 days (2.33 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 22.47 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.70 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.81 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2010 MU112 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 above comparison is an artistic rendering that uses available data on the diameter of 2010 MU112 to create an approximate landscape rendering with Mount Everest in the background. This approximation is built for full-resolution desktop browsers. Shape, color, and texture of asteroid are imagined.