2010 VT11

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2010 VT11

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court (0.15 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 26,674,747 km of Earth in 2052
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2010 VT11 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2010 VT11 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2010 VT11 orbits the sun every 848 days (2.32 years), coming as close as 0.68 AU and reaching as far as 2.83 AU from the sun. 2010 VT11 is about 0.2 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, comparable in size to a basketball court.

Close Approaches

2010 VT11's orbit is 0.01 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 VT11 has 12 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
June 1, 2052 26,674,747 12.835
May 16, 2059 3,466,302 17.058
May 11, 2066 9,538,876 19.498
May 4, 2073 27,962,091 23.159
Nov. 9, 2103 25,557,159 22.723
Nov. 3, 2110 9,575,054 19.450
Oct. 29, 2117 4,608,208 17.002
Oct. 15, 2124 24,229,796 13.100
June 3, 2159 26,137,626 12.928
May 16, 2166 2,442,371 18.100
Nov. 10, 2182 24,738,385 22.573
Oct. 22, 2189 17,443,220 14.268

Images and Observations

2010 VT11's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 2, 2010. It was last officially observed on Dec. 9, 2017. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 224 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 VT11:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.754 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.6112
  • Inclination: 2.48°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 249.38°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 65.76°
  • Mean Anomaly: 212.37°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 0.15200 km
  • Magnitude: 21.7
  • Albedo: 0.189

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 848 days (2.32 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 22.50 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.83 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.68 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2010 VT11 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 VT11 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.