2015 FT118

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2015 FT118

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 21,803,156 km of Earth in 2020
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2015 FT118 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2015 FT118 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2015 FT118 orbits the sun every 461 days (1.26 years), coming as close as 0.94 AU and reaching as far as 1.39 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2015 FT118 is probably between 0.202 to 0.451 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2015 FT118's orbit is 0.04 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 FT118 has 13 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Oct. 21, 2020 21,803,156 13.827
Oct. 1, 2044 18,234,952 11.922
Oct. 21, 2049 21,117,963 13.737
Sept. 29, 2073 20,664,208 11.967
Oct. 20, 2078 18,361,168 13.450
Sept. 29, 2102 22,428,328 12.016
Oct. 21, 2107 17,010,488 13.316
Sept. 30, 2131 21,280,357 11.986
Oct. 21, 2136 18,680,458 13.471
Oct. 1, 2160 18,749,783 11.937
Oct. 23, 2165 21,212,950 13.727
Oct. 2, 2189 17,881,952 11.930
Oct. 23, 2194 21,459,449 13.757

Images and Observations

2015 FT118's orbit is determined by observations dating back to May 30, 2011. It was last officially observed on Feb. 28, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 226 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 FT118:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.167 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1908
  • Inclination: 21.1°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 196.74°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 154.61°
  • Mean Anomaly: 125.38°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.260 km
  • Magnitude: 20.6

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 461 days (1.26 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 27.54 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.39 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.94 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2015 FT118 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 FT118 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.