2015 TM237

Small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2015 TM237

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge
  • Will pass within 21,659,320 km of Earth in 2050
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2015 TM237 is a small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2015 TM237 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2015 TM237 orbits the sun every 721 days (1.97 years), coming as close as 0.73 AU and reaching as far as 2.42 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2015 TM237 is probably between 0.612 to 1.368 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than ~97% of asteroids but small compared to large asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge.

Close Approaches

2015 TM237's orbit is 0.04 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 TM237 has 12 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Sept. 1, 2050 21,659,320 20.739
Aug. 22, 2052 7,400,776 16.097
March 21, 2062 23,242,936 13.080
March 9, 2064 10,013,020 18.007
Sept. 1, 2117 17,695,712 20.029
Aug. 22, 2119 11,147,213 15.211
March 18, 2129 16,091,070 14.528
March 9, 2131 15,773,145 19.400
Sept. 4, 2184 25,446,389 21.516
Aug. 25, 2186 5,039,006 16.565
March 17, 2196 14,979,672 14.837
March 8, 2198 19,984,284 20.212

Images and Observations

2015 TM237's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 8, 2015. It was last officially observed on Jan. 6, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 103 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 TM237:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.573 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5376
  • Inclination: 13.79°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 159.77°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 90.85°
  • Mean Anomaly: 144.4°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.790 km
  • Magnitude: 18.19

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 721 days (1.97 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 23.73 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.42 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.73 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2015 TM237 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 above comparison is an artistic rendering that uses available data on the diameter of 2015 TM237 to create an approximate landscape rendering with Mount Everest in the background. This approximation is built for full-resolution desktop browsers. Shape, color, and texture of asteroid are imagined.