2015 AH

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 2015 AH

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 24,811,647 km of Earth in 2022
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2015 AH is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2015 AH as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2015 AH orbits the sun every 315 days (0.86 years), coming as close as 0.69 AU and reaching as far as 1.12 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2015 AH is probably between 0.128 to 0.287 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

Close Approaches

2015 AH's orbit is 0.04 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is a wide berth between this asteroid and Earth at all times.

2015 AH has 23 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
May 1, 2022 24,811,647 10.769
Dec. 15, 2033 8,515,511 11.155
May 9, 2041 24,572,537 9.906
Dec. 11, 2046 22,938,929 7.754
Dec. 20, 2052 25,126,939 14.281
May 22, 2060 28,886,286 9.520
Dec. 12, 2065 11,327,511 8.945
April 25, 2073 27,324,244 11.856
Dec. 14, 2084 6,573,735 10.615
May 4, 2092 24,149,667 10.333
Dec. 20, 2103 18,447,304 13.047
May 22, 2111 28,282,290 9.500
Dec. 13, 2116 10,419,455 9.095
April 27, 2124 26,797,301 11.720
Dec. 16, 2135 6,529,520 10.565
May 9, 2143 24,132,392 10.004
Dec. 12, 2148 23,789,849 7.693
Dec. 22, 2154 25,735,272 14.398
Dec. 14, 2167 8,300,992 9.480
May 1, 2175 24,864,608 11.038
Dec. 17, 2186 11,244,830 11.708
May 11, 2194 24,456,970 9.808
Dec. 13, 2199 23,914,092 7.674

Images and Observations

2015 AH's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 23, 2014. It was last officially observed on March 23, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 90 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

This asteroid is not considered a viable target for human exploration by the NHATS study.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2015 AH:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.9068 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.2405
  • Inclination: 14.07°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 255.29°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 70.64°
  • Mean Anomaly: 133.76°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.166 km
  • Magnitude: 21.58

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 315 days (0.86 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 31.32 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.12 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.69 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2015 AH 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.

Size Rendering

The below comparison is an artistic rendering that uses available data on the diameter of 2015 AH to create an approximate landscape rendering with New York City in the background. This approximation is built for full-resolution desktop browsers. Shape, color, and texture of asteroid are imagined.