Curious asteroid flyby

A curious object is about to fly past Earth only one-third the distance to the Moon.

Catalogued as a 10m-class asteroid, 2010 AL30 has an orbital period of almost exactly 1 year.

This raises the possibility that it might not be a natural object, but rather a piece of some spacecraft from our own planet.

At closest approach on January 13th, 2010 AL30 will streak through Orion, Taurus, and Pisces glowing like a 14th magnitude star.

Experienced amateur astronomers are encouraged to monitor the flyby.

Orbital elements, images, and more information are available on http://spaceweather.com.