2015 RO36

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

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Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2015 RO36

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 19,567,051 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2015 RO36 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2015 RO36 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 RO36 orbits the sun every 460 days (1.26 years), coming as close as 0.66 AU and reaching as far as 1.67 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2015 RO36 is probably between 0.070 to 0.156 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2015 RO36's orbit is 0.01 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

2015 RO36 has 19 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Feb. 22, 2019 19,567,051 20.035
Sept. 16, 2020 22,967,621 20.932
March 6, 2024 18,241,095 15.157
Sept. 5, 2049 19,771,255 14.125
Sept. 13, 2054 11,398,672 18.938
March 2, 2058 11,104,033 16.688
Sept. 4, 2083 23,412,179 13.622
Sept. 12, 2088 9,492,936 18.614
March 1, 2092 10,939,214 16.701
Sept. 7, 2117 13,531,870 15.003
Feb. 22, 2121 22,456,194 20.639
Sept. 17, 2122 19,940,718 20.396
March 7, 2126 16,838,791 15.321
Sept. 10, 2151 7,682,240 15.874
Feb. 24, 2155 18,498,670 19.882
Sept. 18, 2156 24,010,293 21.130
March 8, 2160 18,896,426 14.979
Sept. 7, 2185 16,657,566 14.556
Sept. 16, 2190 14,379,370 19.447

Images and Observations

2015 RO36's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 11, 2015. It was last officially observed on Oct. 8, 2015. 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 RO36:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.166 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4339
  • Inclination: 20.32°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 348.33°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 260.68°
  • Mean Anomaly: 181.16°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.090 km
  • Magnitude: 22.9

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 460 days (1.26 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 27.58 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.67 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.66 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2015 RO36 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 RO36 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.