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.
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 |
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.
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.
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.