2016 TH10

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 2016 TH10

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 14,866,513 km of Earth in 2020
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2016 TH10 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2016 TH10 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.

2016 TH10 orbits the sun every 245 days (0.67 years), coming as close as 0.37 AU and reaching as far as 1.16 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2016 TH10 is probably between 0.029 to 0.065 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2016 TH10's orbit is 0.01 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

2016 TH10 has 57 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Oct. 9, 2020 14,866,513 10.633
Oct. 2, 2022 19,446,602 10.404
Sept. 23, 2024 22,263,650 10.386
Sept. 16, 2026 23,262,269 10.408
Sept. 7, 2028 22,405,724 10.378
Aug. 31, 2030 19,936,187 10.411
Aug. 23, 2032 15,979,444 10.576
Aug. 18, 2034 10,598,555 11.198
Aug. 15, 2036 4,738,785 12.221
Aug. 14, 2038 3,494,573 13.389
Aug. 13, 2040 10,041,162 14.977
Aug. 15, 2042 17,923,777 16.709
Aug. 16, 2044 26,221,721 18.539
Oct. 16, 2071 26,447,307 18.592
Oct. 18, 2073 13,395,951 15.710
Oct. 18, 2075 1,404,527 13.124
Oct. 16, 2077 6,791,234 11.687
Oct. 11, 2079 14,004,751 10.717
Oct. 2, 2081 19,601,456 10.436
Sept. 23, 2083 22,751,864 10.398
Sept. 13, 2085 23,339,267 10.422
Sept. 4, 2087 21,361,585 10.407
Aug. 24, 2089 16,291,782 10.584
Aug. 17, 2091 8,225,528 11.597
Aug. 14, 2093 3,210,748 13.386
Aug. 15, 2095 14,218,164 15.934
Aug. 17, 2097 27,668,908 18.927
Oct. 19, 2118 16,547,376 16.402
Oct. 19, 2120 4,040,578 13.720
Oct. 18, 2122 6,420,829 11.756
Oct. 10, 2124 15,432,907 10.626
Sept. 30, 2126 21,151,179 10.391
Sept. 19, 2128 23,469,110 10.429
Sept. 8, 2130 22,412,220 10.409
Aug. 28, 2132 18,091,217 10.469
Aug. 20, 2134 11,099,357 11.146
Aug. 16, 2136 3,100,038 12.636
Aug. 16, 2138 8,045,966 14.578
Aug. 16, 2140 18,458,561 16.881
Aug. 19, 2142 29,420,046 19.300
Oct. 19, 2167 19,956,778 17.136
Oct. 19, 2169 10,138,185 15.004
Oct. 20, 2171 1,919,498 13.226
Oct. 18, 2173 3,958,805 12.174
Oct. 16, 2175 10,228,750 11.167
Oct. 10, 2177 15,672,322 10.587
Oct. 3, 2179 19,737,666 10.424
Sept. 26, 2181 22,276,850 10.398
Sept. 19, 2183 23,264,151 10.430
Sept. 10, 2185 22,735,968 10.393
Sept. 4, 2187 20,684,810 10.420
Aug. 27, 2189 17,102,908 10.521
Aug. 22, 2191 12,131,896 11.012
Aug. 17, 2193 4,880,085 12.178
Aug. 16, 2195 4,183,318 13.715
Aug. 16, 2197 13,505,653 15.803
Aug. 18, 2199 23,928,478 18.088

Images and Observations

2016 TH10's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 4, 2016. It was last officially observed on Oct. 1, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 95 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 TH10:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.7658 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.516
  • Inclination: 1.39°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 7.71°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 164.29°
  • Mean Anomaly: 6.21°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.037 km
  • Magnitude: 24.81

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 245 days (0.67 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 34.00 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.16 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.37 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2016 TH10 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 TH10 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.