2015 FW284

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 2015 FW284

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 20,114,889 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2015 FW284 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2015 FW284 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 FW284 orbits the sun every 250 days (0.68 years), coming as close as 0.35 AU and reaching as far as 1.20 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2015 FW284 is probably between 0.028 to 0.062 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2015 FW284'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 FW284 has 18 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Jan. 31, 2019 20,114,889 11.860
Jan. 25, 2021 23,771,258 19.902
March 29, 2026 27,184,874 20.661
March 26, 2028 17,485,499 12.135
Jan. 24, 2032 5,552,190 13.891
April 1, 2039 11,574,632 17.111
March 16, 2041 26,633,844 11.660
Feb. 9, 2043 26,666,201 11.696
Jan. 23, 2045 11,418,787 17.149
March 31, 2052 8,606,697 13.505
Jan. 27, 2056 14,112,292 12.443
April 1, 2063 13,777,287 17.640
Jan. 24, 2069 16,519,959 18.310
Jan. 23, 2080 3,497,806 15.284
March 30, 2087 12,820,514 12.778
Jan. 23, 2091 4,725,282 14.091
April 1, 2098 5,174,646 14.495
Jan. 24, 2137 2,802,066 14.651

Images and Observations

2015 FW284's orbit is determined by observations dating back to March 25, 2015. It was last officially observed on March 30, 2015. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 19 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 FW284:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.7775 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5447
  • Inclination: 2.54°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 149.54°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 188.45°
  • Mean Anomaly: 22.17°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.036 km
  • Magnitude: 24.9

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 250 days (0.68 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 33.83 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.20 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.35 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2015 FW284 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 FW284 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.