Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Amor-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 15,462,372 km of Earth in 2021
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2015 DP155 is a very small asteroid whose orbit approaches the orbit of Earth but does not cross it. NASA JPL has classified 2015 DP155 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2015 DP155 orbits the sun every 552 days (1.51 years), coming as close as 1.02 AU and reaching as far as 1.61 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2015 DP155 is probably between 0.083 to 0.371 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

The rotation of 2015 DP155 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 3.10 hours.

Close Approaches

2015 DP155'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 DP155 has 9 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
June 29, 2021 15,462,372 6.970
May 4, 2077 15,201,313 5.469
June 9, 2080 3,653,160 4.358
June 24, 2083 8,612,657 5.710
July 6, 2086 25,696,095 8.858
May 6, 2145 15,625,997 5.578
June 6, 2148 4,653,497 4.271
June 19, 2151 4,164,300 4.875
July 5, 2154 20,751,131 7.893

Images and Observations

2015 DP155's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Feb. 17, 2015. It was last officially observed on June 21, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 703 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2015 DP155 can be reached with a journey of 402 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 10.299 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 2,612 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2015 DP155.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2015 DP155:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.317 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.2242
  • Inclination: 5.44°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 89.1°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 152.28°
  • Mean Anomaly: 184.71°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.227 km
  • Magnitude: 21.61

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 552 days (1.51 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 25.96 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.61 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 1.02 AU
  • Rotation Period: 3.10 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2015 DP155 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 DP155 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.