511684 (2015 BN509)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 511684 (2015 BN509)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field (0.32 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 12,611,089 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

511684 (2015 BN509) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2015 BN509 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2015 BN509 orbits the sun every 369 days (1.01 years), coming as close as 0.43 AU and reaching as far as 1.58 AU from the sun. 2015 BN509 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 2015 BN509 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 5.67 hours.

Close Approaches

2015 BN509's orbit is 0.02 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 BN509 has 24 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Feb. 11, 2019 12,611,089 15.988
Feb. 12, 2020 21,078,895 14.418
Feb. 10, 2021 29,601,888 13.104
Oct. 17, 2051 25,268,400 13.976
Oct. 17, 2052 17,705,621 15.563
Oct. 19, 2053 12,026,100 17.279
Oct. 21, 2054 11,306,574 18.997
Oct. 23, 2055 16,283,009 20.827
Oct. 25, 2056 23,846,014 22.699
Feb. 5, 2110 22,042,087 22.837
Feb. 8, 2111 13,127,538 20.931
Feb. 10, 2112 5,252,731 19.079
Feb. 11, 2113 6,179,899 17.408
Feb. 12, 2114 14,510,671 15.621
Feb. 13, 2115 23,582,479 14.001
Oct. 18, 2146 22,965,675 14.421
Oct. 20, 2147 15,902,573 16.015
Oct. 20, 2148 11,254,320 17.701
Oct. 22, 2149 12,015,534 19.382
Oct. 25, 2150 17,569,448 21.170
Oct. 27, 2151 25,042,789 22.970
Feb. 4, 2197 28,588,403 24.265
Feb. 7, 2198 15,174,483 21.389
Feb. 11, 2199 4,204,559 18.617

Images and Observations

2015 BN509's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 3, 2005. It was last officially observed on Jan. 14, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 539 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 BN509:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.007 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5684
  • Inclination: 4.15°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 120.1°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 143.18°
  • Mean Anomaly: 135.92°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 0.31500 km
  • Magnitude: 20.8
  • Albedo: 0.093

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 369 days (1.01 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 29.69 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.58 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.43 AU
  • Rotation Period: 5.67 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 511684 (2015 BN509) 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 BN509 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.