2015 XK351

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2015 XK351

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 23,779,203 km of Earth in 2020
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2015 XK351 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2015 XK351 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2015 XK351 orbits the sun every 743 days (2.03 years), coming as close as 0.68 AU and reaching as far as 2.53 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2015 XK351 is probably between 0.238 to 0.532 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 90% of asteroids but tiny compared to large asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2015 XK351'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 XK351 has 11 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Feb. 8, 2020 23,779,203 13.772
July 3, 2028 27,114,881 13.160
July 17, 2030 16,988,258 19.295
Jan. 20, 2077 12,648,647 19.778
Feb. 5, 2079 20,355,136 14.226
July 14, 2089 13,435,238 17.502
Jan. 19, 2136 21,805,179 21.694
Feb. 1, 2138 13,302,780 15.457
July 16, 2148 13,201,620 18.058
Jan. 24, 2193 8,464,941 18.985
Feb. 11, 2195 25,304,449 13.430

Images and Observations

2015 XK351's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 8, 2015. It was last officially observed on Aug. 31, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 161 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 XK351:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.606 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5757
  • Inclination: 11.83°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 136.0°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 67.64°
  • Mean Anomaly: 255.48°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.307 km
  • Magnitude: 20.24

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 743 days (2.03 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 23.52 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.53 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.68 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2015 XK351 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 XK351 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.