2015 NU2

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2015 NU2

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 14,407,821 km of Earth in 2032
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2015 NU2 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2015 NU2 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2015 NU2 orbits the sun every 444 days (1.22 years), coming as close as 0.40 AU and reaching as far as 1.88 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2015 NU2 is probably between 0.176 to 0.394 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2015 NU2's orbit is 0.05 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 NU2 has 19 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
July 6, 2032 14,407,821 21.038
Nov. 12, 2035 28,515,980 15.849
Oct. 31, 2046 23,443,124 25.587
July 13, 2049 26,368,437 25.442
Nov. 6, 2063 7,433,782 21.437
July 2, 2077 24,618,835 17.283
Nov. 5, 2080 7,367,521 21.423
Oct. 30, 2097 24,520,367 25.832
July 12, 2100 20,438,168 23.848
July 7, 2117 16,117,942 19.872
Nov. 10, 2120 13,965,130 18.734
July 2, 2134 28,136,467 16.524
Nov. 6, 2137 8,519,137 22.086
Oct. 31, 2154 27,919,449 26.568
July 12, 2157 18,774,876 23.285
July 8, 2174 15,360,147 20.510
Nov. 12, 2177 18,701,350 17.718
July 5, 2191 21,667,648 18.075
Nov. 9, 2194 7,506,302 20.407

Images and Observations

2015 NU2's orbit is determined by observations dating back to July 3, 2015. It was last officially observed on Aug. 12, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 107 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 NU2:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.139 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.6482
  • Inclination: 8.14°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 243.63°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 279.95°
  • Mean Anomaly: 312.44°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.228 km
  • Magnitude: 20.89

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 444 days (1.22 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 27.91 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.88 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.40 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2015 NU2 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 NU2 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.