2010 XC15

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 2010 XC15

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 772,323 km of Earth in 2022
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2010 XC15 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2010 XC15 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2010 XC15 orbits the sun every 229 days (0.63 years), coming as close as 0.42 AU and reaching as far as 1.04 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2010 XC15 is probably between 0.136 to 0.305 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2010 XC15's orbit is 0.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

2010 XC15 has 33 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Dec. 27, 2022 772,323 10.099
Dec. 18, 2027 7,620,651 8.890
Dec. 1, 2032 12,316,790 8.786
Nov. 18, 2037 14,134,864 9.662
Nov. 12, 2042 20,481,291 12.239
Dec. 29, 2049 28,372,522 16.017
Dec. 30, 2054 13,993,259 12.797
Dec. 28, 2059 1,875,246 10.280
Dec. 26, 2064 1,260,334 9.750
Dec. 12, 2069 9,933,717 8.751
Nov. 23, 2074 13,131,131 9.106
Nov. 13, 2079 18,047,784 11.448
Dec. 29, 2086 29,491,161 16.279
Dec. 31, 2091 12,624,444 12.493
Dec. 25, 2096 1,709,957 9.656
Dec. 1, 2101 12,447,517 8.789
Nov. 13, 2106 19,098,672 11.805
Dec. 31, 2113 15,537,432 13.131
Dec. 23, 2118 5,272,827 9.114
Nov. 23, 2123 13,286,978 9.193
Nov. 12, 2128 26,533,001 14.051
Dec. 30, 2135 2,879,860 10.439
Dec. 11, 2140 10,346,796 8.736
Nov. 18, 2145 13,919,150 9.721
Nov. 13, 2150 26,191,924 13.986
Dec. 31, 2157 10,335,566 11.971
Dec. 21, 2162 6,551,523 8.964
Nov. 26, 2167 12,830,488 9.028
Nov. 13, 2172 20,990,555 12.470
Jan. 1, 2180 16,407,881 13.290
Dec. 25, 2184 3,369,965 9.380
Nov. 26, 2189 12,692,945 8.949
Nov. 13, 2194 22,594,111 12.964

Images and Observations

2010 XC15's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 5, 2010. It was last officially observed on Dec. 22, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 237 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 XC15:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460000.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.7324 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4199
  • Inclination: 8.24°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 94.41°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 158.1°
  • Mean Anomaly: 323.06°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.176 km
  • Magnitude: 21.45

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 229 days (0.63 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 34.79 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.04 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.42 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2010 XC15 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 XC15 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.