470310 (2007 LB15)

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 470310 (2007 LB15)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building
  • Will pass within 29,639,382 km of Earth in 2036
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

470310 (2007 LB15) is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2007 LB15 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2007 LB15 orbits the sun every 332 days (0.91 years), coming as close as 0.57 AU and reaching as far as 1.31 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2007 LB15 is probably between 0.318 to 0.711 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 90% of asteroids but tiny compared to large asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building.

Close Approaches

2007 LB15's orbit is 0.01 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

2007 LB15 has 10 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
June 20, 2036 29,639,382 21.185
June 21, 2056 29,541,808 21.182
June 14, 2127 29,583,768 13.452
June 13, 2137 27,089,960 13.618
June 13, 2147 24,180,508 13.841
June 13, 2157 22,639,384 13.986
June 14, 2167 21,358,071 14.095
June 13, 2177 22,050,701 14.026
June 14, 2187 23,269,548 13.931
June 13, 2197 27,010,084 13.628

Images and Observations

2007 LB15's orbit is determined by observations dating back to June 13, 2007. It was last officially observed on Oct. 29, 2018. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 186 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 2007 LB15:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.9384 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3952
  • Inclination: 25.19°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 262.77°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 237.37°
  • Mean Anomaly: 54.29°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.411 km
  • Magnitude: 19.61

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 332 days (0.91 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 30.75 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.31 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.57 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 470310 (2007 LB15) 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 2007 LB15 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.