2015 XX169 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2015 XX169 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 XX169 orbits the sun every 368 days (1.01 years), coming as close as 0.82 AU and reaching as far as 1.19 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2015 XX169 is probably between 0.006 to 0.026 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.
2015 XX169's orbit is 0.01 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 XX169 has 31 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:
| Date | Distance from Earth (km) | Velocity (km/s) |
|---|---|---|
| Dec. 12, 2019 | 10,696,935 | 5.219 |
| Dec. 7, 2020 | 15,581,301 | 4.821 |
| Nov. 27, 2021 | 20,435,273 | 4.786 |
| Nov. 15, 2022 | 24,742,532 | 4.956 |
| Feb. 3, 2023 | 27,304,904 | 4.587 |
| Nov. 4, 2023 | 28,260,761 | 5.125 |
| Feb. 20, 2024 | 29,798,821 | 5.239 |
| April 18, 2029 | 29,107,091 | 6.044 |
| April 30, 2030 | 26,931,005 | 5.842 |
| May 12, 2031 | 24,094,418 | 5.579 |
| July 31, 2031 | 29,746,052 | 3.831 |
| May 24, 2032 | 20,627,101 | 5.302 |
| June 5, 2033 | 16,668,594 | 5.164 |
| June 15, 2034 | 12,584,789 | 5.370 |
| June 20, 2035 | 9,158,496 | 5.883 |
| June 23, 2036 | 7,392,547 | 6.500 |
| June 27, 2037 | 8,134,319 | 7.221 |
| June 30, 2038 | 11,663,340 | 8.138 |
| July 3, 2039 | 17,056,703 | 9.256 |
| July 5, 2040 | 23,416,438 | 10.486 |
| Dec. 9, 2138 | 26,460,388 | 11.464 |
| Dec. 11, 2139 | 19,207,820 | 10.099 |
| Dec. 12, 2140 | 12,488,291 | 8.827 |
| Dec. 13, 2141 | 6,834,411 | 7.784 |
| Dec. 14, 2142 | 3,246,710 | 7.079 |
| Dec. 14, 2143 | 2,507,756 | 6.838 |
| Dec. 14, 2144 | 2,827,761 | 6.973 |
| Dec. 13, 2145 | 5,697,509 | 7.582 |
| Dec. 13, 2146 | 11,034,794 | 8.567 |
| Dec. 12, 2147 | 17,565,256 | 9.811 |
| Dec. 9, 2148 | 24,705,389 | 11.178 |
2015 XX169's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 9, 2015. It was last officially observed on Dec. 8, 2017. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 57 observations used to determine its orbit.
2015 XX169 can be reached with a journey of 362 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 8.287 km/s. To put this into perspective, the delta-v to launch a rocket to Low-Earth Orbit is 9.7 km/s. There are 527,004 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.
See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2015 XX169.
The position of 2015 XX169 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.