Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Amor-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 11,266,367 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2015 BG4 is a very small asteroid whose orbit approaches the orbit of Earth but does not cross it. NASA JPL has classified 2015 BG4 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.

2015 BG4 orbits the sun every 735 days (2.01 years), coming as close as 1.04 AU and reaching as far as 2.14 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2015 BG4 is probably between 0.014 to 0.031 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2015 BG4's orbit is 0.06 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 BG4 has 10 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Jan. 24, 2019 11,266,367 4.188
Jan. 31, 2021 16,351,835 5.555
Feb. 7, 2023 24,497,292 7.409
Dec. 27, 2159 22,345,536 6.811
Jan. 3, 2162 14,787,206 5.024
Jan. 11, 2164 10,411,893 3.862
Jan. 17, 2166 9,296,718 3.554
Jan. 23, 2168 9,895,652 3.797
Jan. 30, 2170 13,561,381 4.805
Feb. 7, 2172 20,947,851 6.588

Images and Observations

2015 BG4's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Jan. 18, 2015. It was last officially observed on Feb. 11, 2019. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 74 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 BG4:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.593 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3445
  • Inclination: 1.16°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 150.29°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 323.15°
  • Mean Anomaly: 114.11°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.018 km
  • Magnitude: 26.4

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 735 days (2.01 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 23.58 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.14 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 1.04 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2015 BG4 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.