162116 (1998 SA15)

Small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 162116 (1998 SA15)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge (0.54 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 7,730,081 km of Earth in 2052
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

162116 (1998 SA15) is a small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 1998 SA15 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

1998 SA15 orbits the sun every 969 days (2.65 years), coming as close as 0.85 AU and reaching as far as 2.99 AU from the sun. 1998 SA15 is about 0.5 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than ~97% of asteroids but small compared to large asteroids, comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge.

Close Approaches

1998 SA15's orbit is 0.05 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.

1998 SA15 has 9 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Feb. 1, 2052 7,730,081 11.940
Dec. 10, 2059 22,419,625 10.756
Oct. 24, 2067 18,873,286 12.979
Feb. 20, 2105 24,825,716 17.050
Jan. 18, 2113 14,439,781 10.739
Nov. 16, 2120 20,550,764 10.558
Feb. 1, 2166 9,064,088 11.628
Nov. 28, 2173 22,020,152 10.645
Oct. 16, 2181 28,588,356 16.404

Images and Observations

1998 SA15's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 21, 1998. It was last officially observed on April 14, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 91 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 1998 SA15:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.916 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5583
  • Inclination: 7.11°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 114.18°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 331.42°
  • Mean Anomaly: 119.05°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 0.53800 km
  • Magnitude: 19.54
  • Albedo: 0.116

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 969 days (2.65 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 21.51 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.99 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.85 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 162116 (1998 SA15) 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 1998 SA15 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.