Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 10,290,513 km of Earth in 2022
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2010 RF12 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2010 RF12 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 RF12 orbits the sun every 399 days (1.09 years), coming as close as 0.86 AU and reaching as far as 1.26 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2010 RF12 is probably between 0.004 to 0.016 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2010 RF12'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 RF12 has 14 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Sept. 23, 2022 10,290,513 3.312
March 1, 2024 27,610,475 10.644
July 16, 2034 29,432,536 4.368
Dec. 2, 2034 18,716,019 4.775
April 10, 2035 28,267,550 4.295
Aug. 29, 2045 25,050,294 10.048
Feb. 9, 2047 8,683,413 3.467
Aug. 31, 2057 17,213,558 8.500
Feb. 17, 2059 3,534,894 4.441
Aug. 5, 2070 22,615,526 3.329
Nov. 1, 2070 17,450,765 4.365
Aug. 31, 2082 15,840,342 8.220
Feb. 13, 2084 7,689,586 3.618
Sept. 6, 2095 51,908 6.443

NASA Sentry has assessed impact risk for 70 very close approach scenarios. Here are the top scenarios ordered by probability of impact:

Date Probability of Impact (%) Impact Energy (Mt)
Sept. 5, 2095 10.24000 0.008569
Sept. 4, 2096 0.00452 0.008581
Sept. 5, 2098 0.00123 0.008571
Sept. 6, 2101 0.00116 0.008569
Sept. 5, 2109 0.00112 0.00857
Sept. 5, 2100 0.00109 0.008574
Sept. 6, 2111 0.00105 0.008579
Sept. 6, 2103 0.00102 0.008574
Sept. 5, 2099 0.00098 0.008591
Sept. 5, 2120 0.00095 0.008563
Sept. 5, 2112 0.00088 0.008563
Sept. 5, 2121 0.00081 0.00857
Sept. 5, 2122 0.00077 0.008524
Sept. 6, 2110 0.00075 0.008579
Sept. 6, 2102 0.00065 0.008586
Sept. 6, 2111 0.00061 0.008561
Sept. 5, 2104 0.00055 0.008576
Sept. 6, 2109 0.00049 0.008567
Sept. 6, 2103 0.00047 0.008563
Sept. 6, 2106 0.00043 0.00857
Sept. 6, 2107 0.00041 0.008568
Sept. 6, 2105 0.00040 0.008584
Sept. 5, 2108 0.00036 0.00856
June 17, 2113 0.00032 0.008595
Sept. 6, 2111 0.00031 0.008566
Sept. 6, 2102 0.00019 0.008568
Sept. 6, 2119 0.00015 0.008571
June 17, 2122 0.00014 0.008593
Sept. 5, 2099 0.00013 0.008583
Sept. 6, 2115 0.00011 0.008578
Sept. 6, 2103 0.00010 0.008559
Sept. 6, 2107 0.00010 0.008584
Sept. 6, 2102 0.00009 0.008576
Sept. 6, 2114 0.00007 0.008569
Sept. 6, 2118 0.00007 0.008579
Sept. 6, 2105 0.00007 0.008575
Sept. 6, 2109 0.00006 0.008566
Sept. 6, 2117 0.00006 0.008605
Sept. 6, 2106 0.00006 0.008569
Sept. 6, 2121 0.00005 0.008576
Sept. 6, 2113 0.00005 0.008573
Sept. 5, 2120 0.00005 0.008565
Sept. 5, 2116 0.00005 0.00857
Sept. 6, 2111 0.00005 0.008564
Sept. 5, 2112 0.00004 0.008579
Sept. 6, 2120 0.00004 0.008575
Sept. 7, 2109 0.00004 0.008567
Sept. 6, 2115 0.00004 0.008582
Sept. 5, 2100 0.00004 0.008574
Sept. 6, 2122 0.00004 0.008568
Sept. 6, 2122 0.00004 0.008569
Sept. 6, 2120 0.00004 0.008578
Sept. 6, 2118 0.00004 0.008581
Sept. 6, 2114 0.00004 0.008562
Sept. 6, 2121 0.00004 0.008576
Sept. 6, 2113 0.00004 0.008574
Sept. 6, 2110 0.00004 0.008573
Sept. 5, 2104 0.00003 0.008574
Nov. 18, 2120 0.00003 0.008555
Aug. 24, 2121 0.00003 0.008563
Sept. 5, 2108 0.00003 0.008565
Sept. 5, 2108 0.00002 0.008568
Sept. 6, 2118 0.00002 0.008575
Sept. 6, 2120 0.00002 0.008547
Sept. 6, 2109 0.00002 0.008567
Sept. 6, 2116 0.00001 0.008567
Sept. 6, 2111 0.00001 0.008568
Sept. 6, 2118 0.00000 0.008567
Sept. 6, 2108 0.00000 0.008567
Nov. 19, 2117 0.00000 0.008551

Images and Observations

2010 RF12's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 1, 2010. It was last officially observed on Aug. 24, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 339 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2010 RF12 can be reached with a journey of 450 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 5.921 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 572,254 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2010 RF12.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2010 RF12:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.061 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1882
  • Inclination: 0.88°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 163.7°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 267.37°
  • Mean Anomaly: 265.03°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.010 km
  • Magnitude: 28.42

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 399 days (1.09 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 28.93 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.26 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.86 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2010 RF12 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.