2015 GY

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

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

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court (0.14 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 14,358,852 km of Earth in 2036
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

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

2015 GY orbits the sun every 403 days (1.10 years), coming as close as 0.85 AU and reaching as far as 1.28 AU from the sun. 2015 GY is about 0.1 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, comparable in size to a basketball court.

Close Approaches

2015 GY'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 GY has 22 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
April 29, 2036 14,358,852 10.288
Oct. 22, 2037 6,438,520 8.133
April 29, 2047 12,397,119 7.598
Oct. 31, 2048 14,141,822 10.906
Oct. 1, 2069 24,186,556 6.839
April 30, 2079 9,918,514 9.212
Oct. 25, 2080 3,680,191 8.889
April 23, 2090 22,201,328 6.781
Nov. 6, 2091 27,117,047 13.173
May 1, 2111 15,968,037 10.627
Oct. 21, 2112 9,324,040 7.761
May 1, 2122 10,125,235 8.066
Oct. 31, 2123 9,382,513 10.106
Sept. 27, 2144 25,893,205 6.847
May 1, 2154 10,228,423 9.274
Oct. 27, 2155 3,888,083 8.788
April 26, 2165 20,600,809 6.830
Nov. 6, 2166 24,237,036 12.669
April 30, 2186 21,711,102 11.715
Oct. 16, 2187 16,007,730 7.135
May 1, 2197 9,379,654 8.400
Oct. 30, 2198 6,638,365 9.595

Images and Observations

2015 GY's orbit is determined by observations dating back to April 10, 2015. It was last officially observed on Jan. 31, 2017. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 256 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2015 GY can be reached with a journey of 362 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 10.901 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 94 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

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

Similar Objects

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

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.068 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.2001
  • Inclination: 11.81°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 207.76°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 108.67°
  • Mean Anomaly: 131.0°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 0.14300 km
  • Magnitude: 21.7
  • Albedo: 0.180

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 403 days (1.10 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 28.83 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.28 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.85 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2015 GY 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 GY 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.