2015 AR45

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2015 AR45

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building
  • Will pass within 8,155,213 km of Earth in 2028
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2015 AR45 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2015 AR45 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2015 AR45 orbits the sun every 596 days (1.63 years), coming as close as 0.41 AU and reaching as far as 2.36 AU from the sun. Its orbit is highly elliptical. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2015 AR45 is probably between 0.267 to 0.597 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 90% of asteroids but tiny compared to large asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building.

Close Approaches

2015 AR45's orbit is 0.02 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 AR45 has 13 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Jan. 7, 2028 8,155,213 22.127
May 19, 2029 20,511,081 24.525
Jan. 16, 2041 27,343,113 29.174
Jan. 10, 2072 2,646,011 23.896
May 23, 2073 20,261,838 22.615
Jan. 12, 2103 6,025,121 24.786
May 25, 2104 22,128,148 21.527
Jan. 2, 2121 28,184,327 18.172
May 16, 2122 29,469,432 27.962
Jan. 10, 2152 2,639,117 23.278
May 23, 2153 19,390,459 23.284
Jan. 8, 2183 11,756,984 21.364
May 20, 2184 20,694,437 25.102

Images and Observations

2015 AR45's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Feb. 9, 2010. It was last officially observed on Feb. 20, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 148 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 AR45:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.385 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.7014
  • Inclination: 9.23°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 114.36°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 239.62°
  • Mean Anomaly: 156.3°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.345 km
  • Magnitude: 19.99

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 596 days (1.63 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 25.28 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.36 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.41 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2015 AR45 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 AR45 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.