515767 (2015 JA2)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 515767 (2015 JA2)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 9,473,941 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

515767 (2015 JA2) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2015 JA2 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2015 JA2 orbits the sun every 384 days (1.05 years), coming as close as 0.67 AU and reaching as far as 1.40 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2015 JA2 is probably between 0.155 to 0.347 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

The rotation of 2015 JA2 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 0.98 hours.

Close Approaches

2015 JA2'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 JA2 has 19 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Jan. 19, 2019 9,473,941 12.348
July 15, 2035 26,733,045 12.185
Jan. 23, 2039 28,880,223 10.122
Jan. 24, 2040 19,590,534 16.536
June 29, 2055 24,181,216 14.562
Jan. 20, 2060 10,796,319 12.074
July 3, 2076 22,914,842 13.626
Jan. 19, 2081 6,818,930 12.945
June 29, 2097 23,758,356 14.396
Jan. 20, 2102 15,143,092 11.419
July 14, 2119 25,348,163 12.343
Jan. 23, 2124 7,741,314 14.211
July 3, 2140 22,777,961 13.764
Jan. 20, 2145 8,087,645 12.553
June 29, 2161 24,855,750 14.942
Jan. 21, 2166 16,252,614 11.262
June 26, 2182 27,912,106 15.922
Jan. 22, 2187 21,904,756 10.629
Jan. 27, 2188 25,140,076 17.616

Images and Observations

2015 JA2's orbit is determined by observations dating back to May 13, 2015. It was last officially observed on Feb. 14, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 169 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 JA2:

References

Search

   or view a random object

Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.034 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3492
  • Inclination: 16.42°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 126.61°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 246.25°
  • Mean Anomaly: 218.74°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.200 km
  • Magnitude: 21.17

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 384 days (1.05 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 29.29 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.40 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.67 AU
  • Rotation Period: 0.98 hours

Map Comparison

Click to load map

Orbit Simulation

⧉

Sky Map

The position of 515767 (2015 JA2) 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 JA2 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.