Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field (0.32 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 25,560,295 km of Earth in 2056
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

477519 (2010 DJ56) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2010 DJ56 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2010 DJ56 orbits the sun every 510 days (1.40 years), coming as close as 0.94 AU and reaching as far as 1.56 AU from the sun. 2010 DJ56 is about 0.3 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 90% of asteroids but tiny compared to large asteroids, comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2010 DJ56's orbit is 0.03 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.

2010 DJ56 has 8 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Feb. 25, 2056 25,560,295 21.055
Feb. 22, 2063 17,532,620 20.344
Feb. 21, 2070 11,603,483 19.882
Feb. 20, 2077 8,593,381 19.658
Feb. 20, 2084 8,987,732 19.685
Feb. 21, 2091 12,832,954 19.977
Feb. 23, 2098 19,087,939 20.468
Feb. 26, 2105 27,107,302 21.190

Images and Observations

2010 DJ56's orbit is determined by observations dating back to March 7, 2003. It was last officially observed on Aug. 23, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 185 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 2010 DJ56:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.25 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.2453
  • Inclination: 34.84°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 149.92°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 309.27°
  • Mean Anomaly: 309.55°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 0.32100 km
  • Magnitude: 19.21
  • Albedo: 0.327

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 510 days (1.40 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 26.66 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.56 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.94 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 477519 (2010 DJ56) 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 2010 DJ56 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.