Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Interior-Earth Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building
  • Will pass within 19,016,474 km of Earth in 2025
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2010 XB11 is a very small asteroid with an orbit that is entirely confined within Earth's orbit. NASA JPL has classified 2010 XB11 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 XB11 orbits the sun every 177 days (0.48 years), coming as close as 0.29 AU and reaching as far as 0.95 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2010 XB11 is probably between 0.301 to 0.673 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 90% of asteroids but tiny compared to large asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building.

Close Approaches

2010 XB11's orbit is 0.09 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 XB11 has 26 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Jan. 3, 2025 19,016,474 18.939
Jan. 1, 2026 16,352,729 16.262
Jan. 4, 2042 22,340,034 19.662
Jan. 2, 2043 14,548,663 16.625
Jan. 4, 2044 28,854,471 15.873
Jan. 5, 2059 26,143,096 20.472
Jan. 2, 2060 13,842,417 17.109
Jan. 3, 2061 25,329,194 15.788
Jan. 2, 2077 14,485,918 17.643
Jan. 2, 2078 22,096,236 15.833
Jan. 3, 2094 16,282,966 18.235
Jan. 2, 2095 19,148,386 15.995
Jan. 5, 2111 18,975,174 18.919
Jan. 3, 2112 16,560,395 16.260
Jan. 6, 2128 22,334,496 19.686
Jan. 3, 2129 14,705,252 16.618
Jan. 5, 2130 29,009,680 15.846
Jan. 6, 2145 26,167,027 20.497
Jan. 3, 2146 13,970,664 17.096
Jan. 4, 2147 25,487,839 15.780
Jan. 4, 2163 14,553,932 17.641
Jan. 4, 2164 22,322,378 15.816
Jan. 5, 2180 16,245,384 18.226
Jan. 3, 2181 19,425,437 15.961
Jan. 4, 2197 18,948,064 18.905
Jan. 3, 2198 16,776,689 16.243

Images and Observations

2010 XB11's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 2, 2010. It was last officially observed on April 4, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 55 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 XB11:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.618 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5338
  • Inclination: 29.88°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 96.31°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 202.49°
  • Mean Anomaly: 235.41°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.389 km
  • Magnitude: 19.73

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 177 days (0.48 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 37.98 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 0.95 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.29 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2010 XB11 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 XB11 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.