Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 3,190,145 km of Earth in 2021
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2010 RJ53 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2010 RJ53 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 RJ53 orbits the sun every 402 days (1.10 years), coming as close as 0.63 AU and reaching as far as 1.50 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2010 RJ53 is probably between 0.048 to 0.108 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2010 RJ53's orbit is 0.02 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 RJ53 has 17 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Sept. 9, 2021 3,190,145 19.136
Sept. 10, 2032 8,158,103 20.068
Sept. 14, 2043 18,989,984 21.759
Feb. 25, 2073 25,809,771 20.103
Sept. 5, 2075 23,758,640 16.184
March 2, 2084 28,202,123 19.140
Sept. 7, 2086 13,662,843 17.285
Sept. 8, 2097 5,072,138 18.423
Sept. 10, 2108 2,658,385 18.978
Sept. 11, 2119 3,445,963 19.323
Sept. 13, 2130 11,193,469 20.561
Sept. 15, 2141 21,649,875 22.192
Feb. 19, 2171 29,154,540 21.969
Feb. 24, 2182 25,711,806 20.663
Sept. 5, 2184 28,994,326 15.708
March 1, 2193 26,394,538 19.497
Sept. 7, 2195 18,028,538 16.793

Images and Observations

2010 RJ53's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 10, 2010. It was last officially observed on Sept. 11, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 136 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 RJ53:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.066 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4071
  • Inclination: 28.46°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 167.89°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 69.81°
  • Mean Anomaly: 357.55°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.062 km
  • Magnitude: 23.7

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 402 days (1.10 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 28.85 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.50 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.63 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2010 RJ53 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 RJ53 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.