Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Amor-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 25,349,209 km of Earth in 2020
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2013 QL10 is a very small asteroid whose orbit approaches the orbit of Earth but does not cross it. NASA JPL has classified 2013 QL10 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.

2013 QL10 orbits the sun every 511 days (1.40 years), coming as close as 1.02 AU and reaching as far as 1.48 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2013 QL10 is probably between 0.073 to 0.164 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2013 QL10's orbit is 0.17 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.

2013 QL10 has 24 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Sept. 17, 2020 25,349,209 8.981
Sept. 19, 2027 24,832,862 9.119
Sept. 20, 2034 24,723,626 9.232
Feb. 8, 2035 29,576,885 10.079
Sept. 20, 2041 24,792,394 9.344
Feb. 9, 2042 28,844,242 9.929
Sept. 20, 2048 24,986,020 9.426
Feb. 9, 2049 28,330,477 9.833
Sept. 21, 2055 25,216,920 9.517
Feb. 10, 2056 27,936,149 9.736
Sept. 22, 2062 25,526,081 9.608
Feb. 10, 2063 27,630,735 9.657
Sept. 22, 2069 25,904,211 9.703
Feb. 11, 2070 27,352,073 9.577
Sept. 22, 2076 26,429,440 9.838
Feb. 11, 2077 27,112,323 9.476
Sept. 23, 2083 27,202,570 9.991
Feb. 12, 2084 26,956,228 9.385
Sept. 23, 2090 28,398,660 10.230
Feb. 13, 2091 26,975,280 9.263
Feb. 14, 2098 27,451,247 9.125
Feb. 17, 2105 28,811,072 9.000
Sept. 15, 2192 29,321,953 8.733
Sept. 18, 2199 26,989,467 8.871

Images and Observations

2013 QL10's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Aug. 26, 2013. It was last officially observed on March 7, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 103 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 2013 QL10:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.251 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1866
  • Inclination: 16.63°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 341.36°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 89.27°
  • Mean Anomaly: 351.35°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.095 km
  • Magnitude: 22.8

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 511 days (1.40 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 26.63 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.48 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 1.02 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2013 QL10 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 2013 QL10 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.