2015 KB19

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2015 KB19

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 26,756,628 km of Earth in 2024
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2015 KB19 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2015 KB19 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2015 KB19 orbits the sun every 823 days (2.25 years), coming as close as 0.97 AU and reaching as far as 2.47 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2015 KB19 is probably between 0.116 to 0.259 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

Close Approaches

2015 KB19'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 KB19 has 5 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Sept. 1, 2024 26,756,628 11.749
May 27, 2094 20,578,808 12.686
June 1, 2103 13,119,434 11.276
May 30, 2112 15,266,276 11.652
May 25, 2121 25,165,113 13.598

Images and Observations

2015 KB19's orbit is determined by observations dating back to April 24, 2015. It was last officially observed on Nov. 4, 2015. 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 KB19:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.719 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4344
  • Inclination: 7.02°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 253.05°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 40.27°
  • Mean Anomaly: 219.51°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.150 km
  • Magnitude: 21.8

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 823 days (2.25 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 22.72 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.47 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.97 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2015 KB19 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 KB19 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.