2010 RA91

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2010 RA91

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 1,795,602 km of Earth in 2026
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2010 RA91 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2010 RA91 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 RA91 orbits the sun every 460 days (1.26 years), coming as close as 0.76 AU and reaching as far as 1.57 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2010 RA91 is probably between 0.033 to 0.149 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2010 RA91's orbit is 0.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

2010 RA91 has 17 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
March 22, 2026 1,795,602 9.888
March 28, 2031 15,147,474 13.124
Sept. 25, 2049 20,241,434 14.077
Oct. 1, 2054 3,159,684 10.721
Oct. 3, 2059 2,278,562 9.880
Oct. 14, 2064 18,578,648 6.769
Feb. 9, 2085 28,765,455 7.608
March 15, 2090 13,858,977 7.595
March 24, 2095 2,663,446 10.699
Sept. 28, 2108 14,371,359 12.934
Oct. 13, 2113 16,187,212 7.161
March 17, 2129 12,753,895 7.772
March 30, 2134 16,544,086 13.390
Oct. 3, 2147 4,747,291 11.002
Oct. 16, 2152 18,441,382 6.798
March 29, 2178 10,777,435 12.272
Sept. 24, 2191 29,522,127 15.866

Images and Observations

2010 RA91's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 1, 2010. It was last officially observed on May 7, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 120 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2010 RA91 can be reached with a journey of 378 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 10.759 km/s. To put this into perspective, the delta-v to launch a rocket to Low-Earth Orbit is 9.7 km/s. There are 194 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2010 RA91.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2010 RA91:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.167 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3489
  • Inclination: 5.61°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 183.58°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 272.69°
  • Mean Anomaly: 46.83°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.091 km
  • Magnitude: 23.59

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 460 days (1.26 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 27.60 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.57 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.76 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2010 RA91 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 RA91 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.