620066 (2010 SC41)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 620066 (2010 SC41)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building
  • Will pass within 23,175,066 km of Earth in 2038
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

620066 (2010 SC41) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2010 SC41 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2010 SC41 orbits the sun every 931 days (2.55 years), coming as close as 0.73 AU and reaching as far as 3.00 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2010 SC41 is probably between 0.284 to 0.634 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 2010 SC41 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 5.67 hours.

Close Approaches

2010 SC41'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.

2010 SC41 has 10 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Dec. 24, 2038 23,175,066 11.827
April 6, 2044 23,364,723 11.831
May 2, 2072 10,704,865 17.919
Dec. 18, 2089 17,876,119 12.352
April 13, 2095 18,850,916 12.244
Nov. 27, 2112 17,739,482 19.365
May 10, 2123 23,816,928 20.455
Dec. 8, 2140 4,991,068 14.788
April 27, 2174 5,182,581 14.683
Jan. 4, 2197 27,258,816 11.830

Images and Observations

2010 SC41's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 17, 2010. It was last officially observed on June 9, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 394 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 SC41:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.866 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.6067
  • Inclination: 0.25°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 235.51°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 267.61°
  • Mean Anomaly: 347.76°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.366 km
  • Magnitude: 19.86

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 931 days (2.55 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 21.80 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 3.00 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.73 AU
  • Rotation Period: 5.67 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 620066 (2010 SC41) 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 SC41 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.