2015 SD

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 2015 SD

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 12,125,761 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2015 SD is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2015 SD 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 SD orbits the sun every 292 days (0.80 years), coming as close as 0.63 AU and reaching as far as 1.09 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2015 SD is probably between 0.038 to 0.084 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2015 SD's orbit is 0.08 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 SD has 28 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Sept. 20, 2019 12,125,761 10.717
Sept. 21, 2023 11,978,384 10.739
Sept. 22, 2027 11,981,394 10.765
Sept. 22, 2031 12,092,492 10.802
Sept. 24, 2035 12,529,903 10.868
Sept. 25, 2039 13,356,243 10.964
Sept. 26, 2043 14,863,192 11.134
Sept. 28, 2047 17,198,440 11.376
Sept. 30, 2051 20,496,482 11.782
Oct. 2, 2055 24,726,178 12.329
Oct. 3, 2059 29,783,628 13.100
Sept. 17, 2134 13,849,549 10.715
Sept. 19, 2138 13,072,375 10.686
Sept. 19, 2142 12,636,142 10.705
Sept. 20, 2146 12,388,156 10.696
Sept. 21, 2150 12,266,073 10.715
Sept. 21, 2154 12,203,698 10.703
Sept. 21, 2158 12,218,680 10.722
Sept. 21, 2162 12,227,298 10.703
Sept. 20, 2166 12,317,606 10.712
Sept. 20, 2170 12,466,214 10.697
Sept. 20, 2174 12,725,930 10.698
Sept. 19, 2178 13,138,446 10.692
Sept. 18, 2182 13,834,503 10.698
Sept. 16, 2186 14,816,188 10.726
Sept. 15, 2190 16,210,631 10.755
Sept. 13, 2194 18,038,225 10.851
Sept. 11, 2198 20,300,368 10.962

Images and Observations

2015 SD's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 17, 2015. It was last officially observed on Sept. 22, 2015. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 56 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 SD:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.8614 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.2657
  • Inclination: 20.08°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 176.26°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 350.94°
  • Mean Anomaly: 187.14°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.048 km
  • Magnitude: 24.25

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 292 days (0.80 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 32.09 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.09 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.63 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2015 SD 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 SD 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.