2015 BF511

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
• Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
• Will pass within 13,408,796 km of Earth in 2021
• Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

2015 BF511 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2015 BF511 as a "Near Earth Asteroid" due to its orbit's proximity to Earth, but it is not considered potentially hazardous because computer simulations have not indicated any imminent likelihood of future collision.

2015 BF511 orbits the sun every 551 days (1.51 years), coming as close as 0.95 AU and reaching as far as 1.68 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2015 BF511 is probably between 0.019 to 0.085 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

The rotation of 2015 BF511 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 0.58 hours.

Close Approaches

2015 BF511's orbit is 0.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

2015 BF511 has 3 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Images and Observations

2015 BF511's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Jan. 24, 2015. It was last officially observed on Feb. 22, 2015. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 38 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2015 BF511 can be reached with a journey of 370 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 10.253 km/s. To put this into perspective, the delta-v to launch a rocket to Low-Earth Orbit is 9.7 km/s. There are 3,716 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2015 BF511.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2015 BF511:

• 15817 Lucianotesi (1994 QC)
• 25143 Itokawa (1998 SF36)
• 67367 (2000 LY27)

References

• JPL Small Body Database
• Mission Design
• Sky Finder Chart

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2015 BF511 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 BF511 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.