Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 1,119,186 km of Earth in 2035
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

536531 (2015 DV215) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2015 DV215 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2015 DV215 orbits the sun every 697 days (1.91 years), coming as close as 0.92 AU and reaching as far as 2.16 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2015 DV215 is probably between 0.215 to 0.481 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2015 DV215'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.

2015 DV215 has 5 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Oct. 6, 2035 1,119,186 10.821
Oct. 28, 2054 18,447,374 9.273
Sept. 28, 2094 11,470,370 12.421
Oct. 9, 2113 2,394,539 10.504
Oct. 8, 2134 1,119,618 10.693

Images and Observations

2015 DV215's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Oct. 7, 2014. It was last officially observed on April 8, 2019. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 79 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 DV215:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.538 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4026
  • Inclination: 13.2°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 13.93°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 41.36°
  • Mean Anomaly: 226.42°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.278 km
  • Magnitude: 20.46

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 697 days (1.91 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 24.01 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.16 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.92 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 536531 (2015 DV215) 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 DV215 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.