2015 XF261

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 2015 XF261

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 21,021,965 km of Earth in 2028
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2015 XF261 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2015 XF261 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 XF261 orbits the sun every 360 days (0.99 years), coming as close as 0.67 AU and reaching as far as 1.31 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2015 XF261 is probably between 0.017 to 0.078 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2015 XF261'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 XF261 has 25 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
April 6, 2028 21,021,965 6.367
April 10, 2029 6,676,433 8.756
April 8, 2030 7,032,667 11.463
April 5, 2031 21,713,695 14.437
Nov. 25, 2072 17,074,547 13.525
Nov. 22, 2073 1,839,877 10.368
Nov. 21, 2074 10,411,850 8.011
Nov. 27, 2075 21,948,307 6.279
April 5, 2088 22,435,891 6.259
April 12, 2089 11,259,108 7.863
April 11, 2090 381,649 10.095
April 12, 2091 4,034,187 9.286
April 12, 2092 9,329,108 8.225
April 12, 2093 15,168,444 7.130
April 9, 2094 21,260,494 6.234
March 31, 2095 27,068,826 6.170
Nov. 28, 2114 27,124,688 6.201
Nov. 19, 2115 20,445,610 6.299
Nov. 15, 2116 13,362,590 7.455
Nov. 16, 2117 6,716,521 8.745
Nov. 17, 2118 1,658,434 9.911
Nov. 18, 2119 2,785,759 10.570
Nov. 19, 2120 8,504,812 11.774
Nov. 21, 2121 15,323,444 13.182
Nov. 23, 2122 22,604,660 14.662

Images and Observations

2015 XF261's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 8, 2015. It was last officially observed on Jan. 14, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 67 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2015 XF261 can be reached with a journey of 450 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 8.619 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 20,388 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2015 XF261.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2015 XF261:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.9898 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.319
  • Inclination: 0.79°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 209.84°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 100.91°
  • Mean Anomaly: 45.43°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.048 km
  • Magnitude: 25.0

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 360 days (0.99 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 29.91 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.31 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.67 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2015 XF261 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 XF261 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.