297300 (1998 SC15)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 297300 (1998 SC15)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field (0.32 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 21,020,461 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

297300 (1998 SC15) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 1998 SC15 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

1998 SC15 orbits the sun every 525 days (1.44 years), coming as close as 0.75 AU and reaching as far as 1.80 AU from the sun. 1998 SC15 is about 0.3 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 90% of asteroids but tiny compared to large asteroids, comparable in size to a football field.

The rotation of 1998 SC15 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 15.00 hours.

Close Approaches

1998 SC15's orbit is 0.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

1998 SC15 has 17 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
April 16, 2019 21,020,461 17.758
April 7, 2042 4,822,067 13.464
Oct. 22, 2044 9,733,507 13.718
April 16, 2052 22,779,563 18.045
March 29, 2085 21,768,747 11.063
Oct. 18, 2087 18,835,939 16.887
April 9, 2095 1,267,878 14.058
Oct. 19, 2097 12,639,196 15.600
April 15, 2132 14,294,051 16.584
Oct. 25, 2134 11,596,966 13.023
April 5, 2142 11,530,318 12.464
Oct. 17, 2144 22,155,881 17.572
Oct. 29, 2171 26,363,940 10.531
April 11, 2179 2,979,919 14.698
Oct. 24, 2181 9,756,780 13.910
April 8, 2189 4,002,356 13.602
Oct. 21, 2191 14,136,715 15.872

Images and Observations

1998 SC15's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 23, 1998. It was last officially observed on Aug. 18, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 578 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 1998 SC15:

References

Search

   or view a random object

Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.273 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4143
  • Inclination: 16.08°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 198.68°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 277.49°
  • Mean Anomaly: 63.08°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 0.32000 km
  • Magnitude: 19.29

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 525 days (1.44 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 26.38 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.80 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.75 AU
  • Rotation Period: 15.00 hours

Map Comparison

Click to load map

Orbit Simulation

⧉

Sky Map

The position of 297300 (1998 SC15) 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 1998 SC15 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.