2010 UE51 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2010 UE51 as a "Near Earth Asteroid" due to its orbit's proximity to Earth, but it is not considered potentially hazardous because computer simulations have not indicated any imminent likelihood of future collision.
2010 UE51 orbits the sun every 396 days (1.08 years), coming as close as 0.99 AU and reaching as far as 1.12 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2010 UE51 is probably between 0.004 to 0.016 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.
2010 UE51's orbit is 0.01 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.
2010 UE51 has 8 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:
| Date | Distance from Earth (km) | Velocity (km/s) |
|---|---|---|
| Dec. 24, 2023 | 3,428,502 | 1.312 |
| Nov. 1, 2033 | 19,175,599 | 4.639 |
| April 1, 2034 | 14,815,850 | 1.766 |
| June 25, 2044 | 19,211,781 | 2.465 |
| Dec. 26, 2054 | 3,362,558 | 1.344 |
| July 28, 2063 | 20,619,525 | 2.491 |
| Nov. 5, 2080 | 18,957,981 | 4.729 |
| Dec. 8, 2089 | 1,557,285 | 1.014 |
NASA Sentry has assessed impact risk for 6 very close approach scenarios. Here are the top scenarios ordered by probability of impact:
| Date | Probability of Impact (%) | Impact Energy (Mt) |
|---|---|---|
| Dec. 13, 2121 | 0.00597 | 0.007943 |
| Dec. 17, 2119 | 0.00140 | 0.007942 |
| Dec. 17, 2119 | 0.00090 | 0.007943 |
| Dec. 15, 2120 | 0.00069 | 0.00794 |
| Oct. 8, 2102 | 0.00052 | 0.007938 |
| Sept. 29, 2104 | 0.00010 | 0.007938 |
2010 UE51's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 29, 2010. It was last officially observed on Jan. 30, 2011. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 182 observations used to determine its orbit.
2010 UE51 can be reached with a journey of 434 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 4.421 km/s. To put this into perspective, the delta-v to launch a rocket to Low-Earth Orbit is 9.7 km/s. There are 1,608,420 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.
See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2010 UE51.
The position of 2010 UE51 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.