Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building
  • Will pass within 19,443,343 km of Earth in 2054
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

230111 (2001 BE10) is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2001 BE10 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2001 BE10 orbits the sun every 273 days (0.75 years), coming as close as 0.52 AU and reaching as far as 1.13 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2001 BE10 is probably between 0.368 to 0.368 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 90% of asteroids but tiny compared to large asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building.

The rotation of 2001 BE10 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 4.19 hours.

Close Approaches

2001 BE10'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.

2001 BE10 has 20 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Jan. 12, 2054 19,443,343 15.601
Jan. 11, 2057 10,191,691 13.796
Jan. 13, 2060 6,136,808 12.465
Jan. 16, 2063 10,744,035 11.527
Jan. 20, 2066 17,756,073 11.010
Jan. 27, 2069 24,371,735 10.850
Jan. 14, 2110 28,410,218 17.368
Jan. 13, 2113 17,809,169 15.286
Jan. 13, 2116 8,968,661 13.559
Jan. 14, 2119 6,306,209 12.307
Jan. 17, 2122 11,946,235 11.412
Jan. 22, 2125 19,087,937 10.945
Jan. 30, 2128 25,673,352 10.842
Jan. 13, 2169 22,692,738 16.248
Jan. 13, 2172 12,576,636 14.290
Jan. 14, 2175 6,080,124 12.776
Jan. 16, 2178 8,923,963 11.755
Jan. 20, 2181 15,926,729 11.115
Jan. 27, 2184 22,908,384 10.846
Feb. 4, 2187 28,892,966 10.834

Images and Observations

2001 BE10's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Jan. 18, 2001. It was last officially observed on March 22, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 797 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 2001 BE10:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.8231 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3692
  • Inclination: 17.51°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 297.75°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 30.6°
  • Mean Anomaly: 234.24°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.368 km
  • Magnitude: 19.28
  • Albedo: 0.253

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 273 days (0.75 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 32.80 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.13 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.52 AU
  • Rotation Period: 4.19 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 230111 (2001 BE10) 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 2001 BE10 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.