512234 (2015 VO66)

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 512234 (2015 VO66)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 29,653,759 km of Earth in 2028
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

512234 (2015 VO66) is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2015 VO66 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2015 VO66 orbits the sun every 339 days (0.93 years), coming as close as 0.38 AU and reaching as far as 1.52 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2015 VO66 is probably between 0.200 to 0.447 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2015 VO66's orbit is 0.04 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 VO66 has 14 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Nov. 16, 2028 29,653,759 15.369
Nov. 15, 2041 25,233,696 15.915
Nov. 15, 2054 21,218,033 16.512
Nov. 16, 2067 17,713,094 17.107
Nov. 15, 2080 16,313,982 17.354
Nov. 15, 2093 16,248,574 17.350
Nov. 17, 2106 18,713,258 16.909
Nov. 17, 2119 20,701,844 16.590
Nov. 17, 2132 25,320,002 15.911
Nov. 18, 2145 29,561,053 15.376
Nov. 24, 2157 27,547,963 25.495
Nov. 23, 2170 22,434,073 24.405
Nov. 22, 2183 17,826,745 23.432
Nov. 21, 2196 15,396,166 22.906

Images and Observations

2015 VO66's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 9, 2014. It was last officially observed on Jan. 25, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 318 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 VO66:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.9522 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5999
  • Inclination: 14.02°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 64.46°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 219.3°
  • Mean Anomaly: 226.7°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.258 km
  • Magnitude: 20.62

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 339 days (0.93 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 30.56 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.52 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.38 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 512234 (2015 VO66) 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 VO66 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.