2017 RY15

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

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Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2017 RY15

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 17,130,151 km of Earth in 2025
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2017 RY15 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2017 RY15 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.

2017 RY15 orbits the sun every 428 days (1.17 years), coming as close as 0.94 AU and reaching as far as 1.28 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2017 RY15 is probably between 0.080 to 0.179 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2017 RY15's orbit is 0.03 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.

2017 RY15 has 19 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
March 18, 2025 17,130,151 11.145
Oct. 2, 2051 19,282,862 9.385
March 12, 2052 21,853,067 8.756
Sept. 20, 2058 27,771,539 8.750
March 16, 2059 6,967,791 9.962
Sept. 29, 2085 19,889,886 9.082
March 13, 2086 14,928,693 8.810
March 19, 2093 17,491,764 11.194
Oct. 6, 2112 26,024,637 10.695
Sept. 27, 2119 22,256,185 8.878
March 15, 2120 7,463,865 9.112
March 21, 2127 21,990,719 11.790
Oct. 1, 2153 19,505,794 9.200
March 14, 2154 17,890,008 8.772
Sept. 19, 2160 29,442,610 8.742
March 18, 2161 9,621,493 10.265
Oct. 3, 2187 19,610,022 9.318
March 13, 2188 20,164,007 8.769
March 19, 2195 10,572,022 10.389

Images and Observations

2017 RY15's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 15, 2017. It was last officially observed on May 18, 2018. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 120 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 2017 RY15:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.111 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1551
  • Inclination: 16.75°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 356.83°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 111.15°
  • Mean Anomaly: 303.42°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.104 km
  • Magnitude: 22.6

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 428 days (1.17 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 28.24 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.28 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.94 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2017 RY15 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 2017 RY15 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.