2015 FQ117

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 2015 FQ117

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 25,138,591 km of Earth in 2038
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2015 FQ117 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2015 FQ117 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2015 FQ117 orbits the sun every 292 days (0.80 years), coming as close as 0.33 AU and reaching as far as 1.39 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2015 FQ117 is probably between 0.178 to 0.398 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2015 FQ117's orbit is 0.03 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 FQ117 has 31 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Feb. 9, 2038 25,138,591 23.935
Feb. 7, 2042 19,108,343 22.587
Feb. 6, 2046 13,628,928 21.394
Feb. 5, 2050 9,140,850 20.359
Feb. 4, 2054 6,085,821 19.585
Feb. 4, 2058 4,854,944 19.171
Feb. 4, 2062 4,545,825 19.002
Feb. 4, 2066 4,779,545 19.129
Feb. 4, 2070 5,746,283 19.474
Feb. 5, 2074 8,436,390 20.194
Feb. 6, 2078 12,651,994 21.150
Feb. 7, 2082 18,325,153 22.429
Feb. 9, 2086 24,715,663 23.821
April 24, 2128 27,592,713 24.034
April 25, 2132 22,461,805 22.773
April 27, 2136 18,243,297 21.720
April 28, 2140 15,072,954 20.797
April 28, 2144 12,908,264 20.054
April 29, 2148 11,734,410 19.445
April 29, 2152 11,298,994 19.077
April 29, 2156 11,188,189 18.823
April 29, 2160 11,149,020 18.668
April 29, 2164 11,163,410 18.587
April 30, 2168 11,255,189 18.395
April 30, 2172 11,452,452 18.179
April 30, 2176 11,930,429 17.891
April 30, 2180 12,549,948 17.584
April 30, 2184 13,625,231 17.207
April 30, 2188 14,813,611 16.846
April 30, 2192 16,248,592 16.473
April 30, 2196 17,528,112 16.169

Images and Observations

2015 FQ117's orbit is determined by observations dating back to March 22, 2015. It was last officially observed on March 19, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 84 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 FQ117:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.8607 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.6205
  • Inclination: 4.56°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 293.86°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 63.13°
  • Mean Anomaly: 44.34°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.230 km
  • Magnitude: 20.87

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 292 days (0.80 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 32.07 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.39 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.33 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2015 FQ117 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 FQ117 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.