Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 9,393,851 km of Earth in 2022
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2003 DY15 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2003 DY15 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.

2003 DY15 orbits the sun every 499 days (1.37 years), coming as close as 0.83 AU and reaching as far as 1.64 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2003 DY15 is probably between 0.010 to 0.043 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2003 DY15'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.

2003 DY15 has 9 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Aug. 5, 2022 9,393,851 9.094
Aug. 11, 2037 15,174,820 12.289
Feb. 27, 2059 16,409,472 13.121
June 30, 2063 26,591,975 6.943
March 8, 2074 4,396,344 9.164
Aug. 7, 2078 8,305,305 9.860
Feb. 25, 2111 24,571,298 14.712
July 14, 2115 23,415,351 6.471
Aug. 12, 2141 15,127,820 12.306

Images and Observations

2003 DY15's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Feb. 28, 2003. It was last officially observed on March 5, 2003. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 59 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2003 DY15 can be reached with a journey of 370 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 10.643 km/s. To put this into perspective, the delta-v to launch a rocket to Low-Earth Orbit is 9.7 km/s. There are 517 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2003 DY15.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2003 DY15:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.231 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3285
  • Inclination: 6.32°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 342.75°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 253.04°
  • Mean Anomaly: 335.18°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.027 km
  • Magnitude: 26.3

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 499 days (1.37 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 26.84 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.64 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.83 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2003 DY15 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.