2010 AL30

2010 AL₃₀ is a near-Earth asteroid that was discovered on 10 January 2010 at Grove Creek Observatory, Australia.^[1][3]

2010 AL₃₀

Goldstone radar collage of asteroid 2010 AL30
Discovery
Discovery date	January 10, 2010
Designations
Alternative designations	none
Minor planet category	Apollo NEO[1]
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 13 January 2016 (JD 2457400.5)
Uncertainty parameter 2
Aphelion	1.3688 AU (204.77 Gm)
Perihelion	0.72437 AU (108.364 Gm)
Semi-major axis	1.0466 AU (156.57 Gm)
Eccentricity	0.30787
Orbital period (sidereal)	1.07 yr (391.07 d)
Average orbital speed	28.5
Mean anomaly	156.409°
Mean motion	0° 55m 13.944s /day
Inclination	3.8300°
Longitude of ascending node	112.376°
Argument of perihelion	97.711°
Earth MOID	0.000981553 AU (146,838.2 km)
Jupiter MOID	3.59473 AU (537.764 Gm)
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	~30 meters (elongated)[2]
Synodic rotation period	0.14660 h (0.006108 d)
Spectral type	?
Absolute magnitude (H)	27.2

Italian scientists Ernesto Guido and Giovanni Sostero told RIA Novosti that it had an orbital period of almost exactly one year and might be a spent rocket booster.^[4] However, it was determined that it is a near-Earth asteroid.^[5] On January 13, 2010 at 1246 UT it passed Earth at 0.0008624 AU (129,010 km; 80,170 mi),^[1] about 1/3 of the distance from the Earth to the Moon (or 0.33 LD).

Based an estimated diameter of 10–15 m (33–49 ft), if 2010 AL30 had entered the Earth's atmosphere, it would have created a meteor air burst equivalent to between 50 kT and 100 kT (kilotons of TNT). The Nagasaki "Fat Man" atom bomb had a yield between 13–18 kT.^[6]

It has an uncertainty parameter of 2 and has been observed by radar.^[1] Radar observations show the asteroid is elongated and is about 30 meters in diameter.^[2] It may be a contact binary.

See also

• 2010 GA6
• List of asteroid close approaches to Earth