Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field (0.27 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 7,171,725 km of Earth in 2042
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2010 XP69 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2010 XP69 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2010 XP69 orbits the sun every 687 days (1.88 years), coming as close as 1.00 AU and reaching as far as 2.05 AU from the sun. 2010 XP69 is about 0.3 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2010 XP69'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 XP69 has 6 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Oct. 9, 2042 7,171,725 9.842
Oct. 15, 2057 2,891,196 9.322
Oct. 5, 2089 12,385,588 10.357
Nov. 2, 2104 21,418,325 9.704
Oct. 12, 2136 4,008,079 9.603
Oct. 15, 2151 2,370,065 9.383

Images and Observations

2010 XP69's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 5, 2010. It was last officially observed on April 1, 2017. 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 XP69:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.523 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3428
  • Inclination: 14.59°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 199.85°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 197.32°
  • Mean Anomaly: 298.09°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 0.27300 km
  • Magnitude: 20.75
  • Albedo: 0.065

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 687 days (1.88 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 24.12 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.05 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 1.00 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2010 XP69 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 XP69 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.