2010 XC15

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 2010 XC15

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 772,326 km of Earth in 2022
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2010 XC15 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2010 XC15 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2010 XC15 orbits the sun every 229 days (0.63 years), coming as close as 0.42 AU and reaching as far as 1.04 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2010 XC15 is probably between 0.134 to 0.301 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

The rotation of 2010 XC15 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 2.67 hours.

Close Approaches

2010 XC15'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 XC15 has 22 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Dec. 27, 2022 772,326 10.099
Dec. 18, 2027 7,620,368 8.890
Dec. 1, 2032 12,316,570 8.786
Nov. 18, 2037 14,134,339 9.662
Nov. 12, 2042 20,478,461 12.238
Dec. 29, 2049 28,380,122 16.019
Dec. 30, 2054 14,002,765 12.799
Dec. 28, 2059 1,884,441 10.282
Dec. 26, 2064 1,281,276 9.745
Dec. 12, 2069 9,896,121 8.753
Nov. 23, 2074 13,108,565 9.091
Nov. 13, 2079 17,857,268 11.379
Dec. 31, 2091 13,221,081 12.624
Dec. 26, 2096 1,278,618 9.743
Nov. 29, 2101 12,689,516 8.843
Nov. 12, 2106 21,771,799 12.672
Dec. 31, 2113 8,773,605 11.657
Dec. 15, 2118 9,428,371 8.765
Nov. 17, 2123 14,625,405 10.041
Dec. 31, 2130 23,291,716 14.860
Dec. 27, 2135 1,758,318 9.664
Jan. 1, 2148 17,113,603 13.451

Images and Observations

2010 XC15's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 5, 2010. It was last officially observed on Dec. 28, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 279 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 XC15:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.7324 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4199
  • Inclination: 8.24°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 94.4°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 158.1°
  • Mean Anomaly: 277.57°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.174 km
  • Magnitude: 21.48

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 229 days (0.63 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 34.79 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.04 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.42 AU
  • Rotation Period: 2.67 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2010 XC15 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 XC15 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.