2010 AB78 is a Near-Earth asteroid discovered in 2010. It's the first discovered by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer

Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer

Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer is a NASA infrared-wavelength astronomical space telescope launched on December 14, 2009, and decommissioned/hibernated on February 17, 2011 when its transmitter was turned off...

 (WISE) space observatory

Space observatory

A space observatory is any instrument in outer space which is used for observation of distant planets, galaxies, and other outer space objects...

 of the many thousands it's expected to discover.

The first observation of 2010 AB78 by WISE was on January 12, 2010, being observed again the next day. The Mauna Kea Observatory

Mauna Kea Observatory

The Observatories at Mauna Kea, , are an independent collection of astronomical research facilities located on the summit of Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawai'i, USA. The facilities are located in a special land use zone known as the "Astronomy Precinct," which is located in the Mauna Kea...

 observed it the days 18 and 19 of January, allowing the Minor Planet Center

Minor Planet Center

The Minor Planet Center operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory , which is part of the Center for Astrophysics along with the Harvard College Observatory ....

 to publish a circular the day 22 confirming the discovery The asteroid measures about 1 km in diameter

Diameter

In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the center of the circle and whose endpoints are on the circle. The diameters are the longest chords of the circle...

.