2010 TD54

2010 TD₅₄

Orbital diagram of 2010 TD54 during its near-Earth encounter on 12 Oct 2010
Discovery
Discovered by	Mount Lemmon Srvy.
Discovery site	Mount Lemmon Obs.
Discovery date	9 October 2010
Designations
Minor planet category	NEO · Apollo
Orbital characteristics
Epoch 21 November 2025 (JD 2461000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 6
Observation arc	3 days
Aphelion	3.2371 AU
Perihelion	0.7053 AU
Semi-major axis	1.9712 AU
Eccentricity	0.6422
Orbital period (sidereal)	2.77 yr (1,011 days)
Mean anomaly	147.92°
Mean motion	0° 21m 21.96s / day
Inclination	4.2945°
Longitude of ascending node	18.123°
Argument of perihelion	76.641°
Earth MOID	0.001444 AU 0.562 LD
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	5 m 5–10 m
Synodic rotation period	0.01167 h (dated) 0.0229317 h
Geometric albedo	0.20 (assumed)
Spectral type	Srv
Absolute magnitude (H)	28.9

2010 TD₅₄ is a tiny asteroid and fast rotator, classified as a near-Earth object of the Apollo group, approximately 5 meters in diameter. It was first observed by the Mount Lemmon Survey in October 2010, when the asteroid crossed through the Earth-moon system and had a close encounter with Earth.

Orbit and classification

2010 TD₅₄ orbits the Sun at a distance of 0.7–3.2 AU once every 2 years and 9 months (1,011 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.64 and an inclination of 4° with respect to the ecliptic.

The body's observation arc begins with its first observations by the Mount Lemmon Survey and only spans over a period of 3 days until 12 October 2010. It has been observed since then.

Close approach

2010 TD₅₄ made its closest approach at 10:51, 12 October 2010 UTC (6:51 EDT a.m.) at 0.000346 AU (51,800 km; 32,200 mi). It is one of the closest known approaches of an asteroid to Earth, at which time the object appeared at a magnitude of 14. It was first observed by of the Catalina Sky Survey's telescopes north of Tucson, Arizona on 9 October 2010.

It has an Earth minimum orbit intersection distance of 0.00144418 AU (216,000 km; 134,000 mi), which corresponds to 0.562 lunar distance. It was removed from the Sentry Risk Table on 11 October 2010. The asteroid may have passed 0.0009 AU (135,000 km; 83,700 mi) from Earth in October 1979, but the nominal orbit suggests it passed millions of kilometres from Earth in 1979.

Physical characteristics

2010 TD₅₄ is a stony asteroid, characterized as a Srv subtype.

Rotation period

In November 2010, a rotational light curve of 2010 TD₅₄ was obtained from photometric observations, which showed that the asteroid is a fast rotator. Light curve analysis gave a well-defined rotation period of 0.0229317 hours (1 minute and 23 seconds) with a brightness amplitude of 0.92 magnitude (U=3). A high amplitude typically indicates that the body has an irregular, elongated rather than spherical shape. This result supersedes a previously obtained lightcurve with a shorter period of 0.01167 hours (U=1).

Diameter and albedo

The Collaborative Asteroid Lightcurve Link assumes a standard albedo for stony asteroids of 0.20 and calculates a diameter of 5 metres (16 feet) based on an absolute magnitude of 28.9. NASA's press release gave an estimated diameter of 5 to 10 meters (16 to 33 feet).

See also

• List of asteroid close approaches to Earth, for other close approaches
• List of asteroid close approaches to Earth in 2010

External links

• Asteroid 2010 TD54's Orbit Around the Sun
• Small Asteroid to Pass Within Earth-Moon System Tuesday 10.11.10
• The near-Earth asteroid 2010 TD54: The fastest rotating natural body known in the solar system? 29 Oct 2010
• Asteroid Lightcurve Database (LCDB), query form (info Archived 16 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine)
• 2010 TD54 at NeoDyS-2, Near Earth Objects—Dynamic Site
  • Ephemerides · Observation prediction · Orbital info · MOID · Proper elements · Observational info · Close approaches · Physical info · Orbit animation
• 2010 TD54 at ESA–space situational awareness
  • Ephemerides · Observations · Orbit · Physical properties · Summary
• 2010 TD54 at the JPL Small-Body Database