2010 XA68

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2010 XA68

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 24,998,021 km of Earth in 2020
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2010 XA68 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2010 XA68 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2010 XA68 orbits the sun every 455 days (1.25 years), coming as close as 0.81 AU and reaching as far as 1.51 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2010 XA68 is probably between 0.111 to 0.248 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

Close Approaches

2010 XA68's orbit is 0.05 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 XA68 has 17 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Dec. 7, 2020 24,998,021 30.059
June 13, 2047 27,715,088 33.160
June 8, 2052 12,811,381 31.913
June 4, 2057 8,406,582 30.990
May 31, 2062 21,532,123 30.313
Dec. 10, 2076 29,236,092 28.711
Dec. 8, 2081 23,792,191 29.478
Dec. 6, 2086 27,278,799 30.516
June 12, 2113 20,934,493 32.572
June 8, 2118 7,893,957 31.454
June 4, 2123 13,011,924 30.653
May 30, 2128 27,886,357 30.106
Dec. 11, 2142 26,018,929 29.005
Dec. 9, 2147 23,861,624 29.826
June 12, 2179 16,874,957 32.226
June 6, 2184 6,554,054 31.203
June 2, 2189 16,800,579 30.450

Images and Observations

2010 XA68's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 14, 2010. It was last officially observed on Dec. 6, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 81 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 XA68:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.157 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3014
  • Inclination: 59.28°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 74.32°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 107.47°
  • Mean Anomaly: 12.49°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.143 km
  • Magnitude: 21.9

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 455 days (1.25 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 27.66 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.51 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.81 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2010 XA68 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 XA68 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.