405212 (2003 QC10)

Small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 405212 (2003 QC10)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge
  • Will pass within 21,115,181 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

405212 (2003 QC10) is a small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2003 QC10 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2003 QC10 orbits the sun every 588 days (1.61 years), coming as close as 0.37 AU and reaching as far as 2.38 AU from the sun. Its orbit is highly elliptical. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2003 QC10 is probably between 0.655 to 1.466 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than ~97% of asteroids but small compared to large asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge.

The rotation of 2003 QC10 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 15.27 hours.

Close Approaches

2003 QC10's orbit is 0.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

2003 QC10 has 15 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Sept. 30, 2019 21,115,181 19.951
May 20, 2047 13,661,233 22.620
Sept. 22, 2048 5,038,373 25.027
May 16, 2084 21,421,908 20.549
Sept. 19, 2085 16,525,798 27.326
May 27, 2092 20,726,317 27.380
Sept. 29, 2093 18,926,376 20.348
May 15, 2121 29,840,736 18.743
Sept. 18, 2122 25,606,143 29.160
May 26, 2129 14,625,452 25.664
Sept. 28, 2130 9,353,935 22.211
May 25, 2166 13,207,611 25.039
Sept. 28, 2167 6,791,726 22.708
May 18, 2195 25,892,163 19.583
Sept. 20, 2196 20,941,854 28.204

Images and Observations

2003 QC10's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Aug. 22, 2003. It was last officially observed on May 16, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 399 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 2003 QC10:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.373 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.7313
  • Inclination: 5.04°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 359.97°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 120.87°
  • Mean Anomaly: 132.92°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.846 km
  • Magnitude: 18.04

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 588 days (1.61 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 25.40 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.38 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.37 AU
  • Rotation Period: 15.27 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 405212 (2003 QC10) 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 2003 QC10 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.