2015 KJ122

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 2015 KJ122

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 24,991,481 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2015 KJ122 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2015 KJ122 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2015 KJ122 orbits the sun every 254 days (0.70 years), coming as close as 0.20 AU and reaching as far as 1.37 AU from the sun. Its orbit is highly elliptical. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2015 KJ122 is probably between 0.106 to 0.238 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

Close Approaches

2015 KJ122'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 KJ122 has 37 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
April 24, 2019 24,991,481 26.924
June 14, 2020 19,680,866 24.864
April 18, 2026 8,649,344 20.424
June 17, 2029 24,402,971 18.279
June 15, 2036 16,368,784 23.833
April 18, 2042 5,794,590 21.166
June 16, 2045 27,038,074 17.891
June 15, 2052 14,864,688 23.261
April 19, 2058 5,103,171 21.481
June 16, 2061 27,933,408 17.777
June 16, 2068 14,817,962 23.255
April 19, 2074 5,656,074 21.233
June 16, 2077 26,386,430 17.987
April 25, 2083 29,466,396 27.947
June 15, 2084 16,977,385 24.062
April 18, 2090 9,527,947 20.243
June 17, 2093 21,757,434 18.738
April 23, 2099 21,670,662 26.190
June 14, 2100 23,006,910 25.791
April 20, 2106 17,369,315 18.830
June 19, 2109 15,747,668 20.143
April 22, 2115 12,532,635 24.123
April 21, 2122 24,835,625 17.803
June 18, 2125 13,000,309 21.594
April 21, 2131 6,666,813 22.638
April 22, 2138 28,950,143 17.380
June 18, 2141 13,204,732 22.378
April 21, 2147 5,480,576 22.149
April 23, 2154 29,633,444 17.328
June 18, 2157 13,194,748 22.412
April 21, 2163 5,851,890 22.307
April 22, 2170 28,167,766 17.468
June 18, 2173 12,836,693 21.972
April 22, 2179 7,504,324 22.855
April 22, 2186 25,677,074 17.734
June 19, 2189 13,049,843 21.342
April 22, 2195 10,540,268 23.629

Images and Observations

2015 KJ122's orbit is determined by observations dating back to May 19, 2015. It was last officially observed on June 3, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 87 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 KJ122:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.7853 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.7503
  • Inclination: 5.07°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 187.9°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 229.78°
  • Mean Anomaly: 172.12°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.137 km
  • Magnitude: 21.99

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 254 days (0.70 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 33.64 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.37 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.20 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2015 KJ122 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 KJ122 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.