2015 FD35

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2015 FD35

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 27,270,197 km of Earth in 2026
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2015 FD35 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2015 FD35 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 FD35 orbits the sun every 682 days (1.87 years), coming as close as 0.50 AU and reaching as far as 2.53 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2015 FD35 is probably between 0.211 to 0.472 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2015 FD35's orbit is 0.08 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 FD35 has 13 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Oct. 7, 2026 27,270,197 17.410
March 23, 2030 28,257,018 16.876
Oct. 11, 2054 20,048,873 19.325
March 9, 2073 22,791,943 25.879
Oct. 15, 2082 15,484,109 21.311
March 12, 2101 17,327,833 24.423
Oct. 18, 2110 15,386,122 22.349
March 13, 2129 15,841,717 23.965
Oct. 19, 2138 15,825,638 22.748
March 14, 2157 14,881,524 23.596
Oct. 19, 2166 16,059,471 22.872
March 15, 2185 14,434,302 23.407
Oct. 20, 2194 16,655,988 23.213

Images and Observations

2015 FD35's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Jan. 22, 2015. It was last officially observed on Feb. 3, 2017. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 40 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 FD35:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.516 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.6717
  • Inclination: 5.89°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 302.76°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 335.81°
  • Mean Anomaly: 154.9°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.273 km
  • Magnitude: 20.5

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 682 days (1.87 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 24.18 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.53 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.50 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2015 FD35 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 FD35 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.