551685 (2013 HT15)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 551685 (2013 HT15)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 8,321,340 km of Earth in 2022
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

551685 (2013 HT15) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2013 HT15 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2013 HT15 orbits the sun every 422 days (1.16 years), coming as close as 0.64 AU and reaching as far as 1.57 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2013 HT15 is probably between 0.115 to 0.257 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

Close Approaches

2013 HT15's orbit is 0.03 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.

2013 HT15 has 21 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Dec. 13, 2022 8,321,340 14.414
May 19, 2028 16,192,447 10.289
May 10, 2050 20,038,392 17.228
Dec. 10, 2059 10,365,812 11.663
May 16, 2065 4,515,147 12.949
Dec. 17, 2074 17,620,324 16.660
May 22, 2080 29,404,678 7.737
May 7, 2087 28,940,661 19.016
Dec. 7, 2096 16,335,308 10.269
May 16, 2102 4,113,987 13.358
Dec. 18, 2111 15,516,313 16.195
May 10, 2124 23,091,414 17.854
Dec. 14, 2133 6,693,356 13.822
May 23, 2139 22,915,644 8.979
May 10, 2146 23,750,408 17.995
Dec. 17, 2155 14,367,805 15.951
Dec. 4, 2162 27,855,105 7.874
May 17, 2168 4,604,584 12.974
Dec. 18, 2184 19,413,589 17.063
Dec. 8, 2191 19,958,162 9.506
May 20, 2197 13,513,062 10.834

Images and Observations

2013 HT15's orbit is determined by observations dating back to March 26, 2006. It was last officially observed on Jan. 22, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 137 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 2013 HT15:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.101 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.423
  • Inclination: 2.92°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 23.28°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 315.92°
  • Mean Anomaly: 284.17°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.148 km
  • Magnitude: 21.82

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 422 days (1.16 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 28.38 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.57 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.64 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 551685 (2013 HT15) 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 2013 HT15 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.