2016 AA10

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2016 AA10

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field (0.27 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 25,870,627 km of Earth in 2046
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2016 AA10 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2016 AA10 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2016 AA10 orbits the sun every 941 days (2.58 years), coming as close as 0.92 AU and reaching as far as 2.84 AU from the sun. 2016 AA10 is about 0.3 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2016 AA10's orbit is 0.04 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.

2016 AA10 has 7 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Oct. 7, 2046 25,870,627 11.566
Nov. 6, 2064 14,600,983 10.820
Nov. 26, 2082 7,011,301 11.253
Dec. 8, 2100 10,780,889 12.443
Oct. 8, 2149 25,725,800 11.668
Nov. 7, 2167 14,615,659 10.823
Nov. 27, 2185 7,132,081 11.226

Images and Observations

2016 AA10's orbit is determined by observations dating back to June 9, 2015. It was last officially observed on Feb. 6, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 105 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 2016 AA10:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.879 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5094
  • Inclination: 12.66°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 59.73°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 342.5°
  • Mean Anomaly: 9.29°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 0.27100 km
  • Magnitude: 20.29
  • Albedo: 0.200

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 941 days (2.58 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 21.72 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.84 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.92 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2016 AA10 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 2016 AA10 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.