310560 (2001 QL142)

Small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 310560 (2001 QL142)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge (0.65 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 18,022,807 km of Earth in 2031
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

310560 (2001 QL142) is a small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2001 QL142 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2001 QL142 orbits the sun every 393 days (1.08 years), coming as close as 0.53 AU and reaching as far as 1.57 AU from the sun. 2001 QL142 is about 0.7 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than ~97% of asteroids but small compared to large asteroids, comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge.

The rotation of 2001 QL142 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 2.97 hours.

Close Approaches

2001 QL142's orbit is 0.05 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 QL142 has 10 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Sept. 8, 2031 18,022,807 18.198
Sept. 20, 2046 28,166,768 25.300
Sept. 13, 2060 8,200,854 21.259
Sept. 8, 2074 18,823,835 18.083
Sept. 18, 2103 16,230,901 23.068
Sept. 15, 2117 8,266,230 21.252
Sept. 11, 2131 13,872,723 18.905
Sept. 17, 2160 14,920,064 22.791
Sept. 12, 2174 9,757,854 19.772
Sept. 6, 2188 29,614,871 16.600

Images and Observations

2001 QL142's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 14, 1974. It was last officially observed on Sept. 20, 2017. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 215 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 QL142:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.049 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4991
  • Inclination: 26.61°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 165.57°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 72.13°
  • Mean Anomaly: 260.77°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 0.65400 km
  • Magnitude: 17.8
  • Albedo: 0.313

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 393 days (1.08 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 29.04 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.57 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.53 AU
  • Rotation Period: 2.97 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 310560 (2001 QL142) 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 above comparison is an artistic rendering that uses available data on the diameter of 2001 QL142 to create an approximate landscape rendering with Mount Everest in the background. This approximation is built for full-resolution desktop browsers. Shape, color, and texture of asteroid are imagined.