2012 AN10

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 2012 AN10

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 12,270,835 km of Earth in 2025
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2012 AN10 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2012 AN10 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.

2012 AN10 orbits the sun every 317 days (0.87 years), coming as close as 0.55 AU and reaching as far as 1.27 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2012 AN10 is probably between 0.084 to 0.188 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2012 AN10'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.

2012 AN10 has 14 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Jan. 17, 2025 12,270,835 11.826
Jan. 17, 2038 16,865,646 11.177
Jan. 15, 2051 23,698,671 10.468
Jan. 14, 2071 21,845,167 17.926
Jan. 15, 2084 13,997,872 16.403
Jan. 16, 2097 9,430,406 15.544
Jan. 17, 2110 10,854,098 15.820
Jan. 16, 2123 17,140,583 17.015
Jan. 14, 2136 24,675,184 18.476
Jan. 12, 2142 29,358,171 10.149
Jan. 16, 2155 22,425,633 10.575
Jan. 19, 2168 15,931,315 11.297
Jan. 19, 2181 12,399,152 11.792
Jan. 19, 2194 12,079,857 11.848

Images and Observations

2012 AN10's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Jan. 10, 2012. It was last officially observed on Jan. 20, 2012. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 71 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 2012 AN10:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.9091 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3973
  • Inclination: 14.08°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 297.48°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 303.38°
  • Mean Anomaly: 74.97°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.109 km
  • Magnitude: 22.5

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 317 days (0.87 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 31.20 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.27 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.55 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2012 AN10 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 2012 AN10 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.