SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2015 VW

2015 VW

2015 VW is an Amor-type near-Earth asteroid that approaches Earth from beyond our orbit without crossing it, orbiting the Sun at 1.751 AU once every 2.32 yr.

Amor Observations: 119
Orbital Period · P
2.32 yr
v(q)
32.1 km/s
v(Q)
15.8 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.23 km
TJ
3.96
Eccentricity · e
0.3418

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 1.153 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 2.349 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 1.196 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 1.751 AU gives an orbital period of 2.32 yr, or about 846 days.

An eccentricity of 0.342 makes the orbit moderately elongated.

A steep inclination of 25.57° carries it well above and below the ecliptic plane.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 32.1 km/s at perihelion and falls to 15.8 km/s at aphelion.

Its perihelion lies just outside Earth's orbit, which is why it is classed as Earth-approaching rather than Earth-crossing.

Size and surface

No direct size measurement is available; from an absolute magnitude of H = 20.94 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.23 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 119 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.4971 arcseconds.

Condition code U = 0 means the orbit is very well determined, leaving only a small uncertainty in the future ephemeris.

About these computed values

Orbital periods, perihelion and aphelion speeds, and diameter estimates on this page are computed by SpaceAtlas from the JPL SBDB orbital elements. They are derived quantities, not values copied from the source catalogue.

Orbital Parameters

Semi-Major Axis
1.751 AU
Eccentricity
0.3418
Perihelion
1.153 AU
Aphelion
2.349492 AU
Inclination
25.57°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
233.12°

Orbit diagram

The Sun sits at the focus (orange). Earth's orbit is the grey circle at 1 AU. The red dot marks the object's position at the catalog epoch.

3D orbit (interactive)

Drag to rotate; scroll or pinch to zoom. The Sun is at the focus (orange), Earth's orbit is the grey ring at 1 AU, and the red dot marks the object's current position.

Close approaches

Predicted close approaches to Earth, from NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS).

Date (UTC)Miss distanceVelocity
2059-Oct-15 01:29 0.408637 AU
61131225 km
17.90 km/s
2066-Oct-13 15:21 0.273259 AU
40879029 km
14.40 km/s
2073-Oct-17 03:13 0.362707 AU
54260134 km
13.05 km/s

Distances in astronomical units (AU) and kilometres. Source: NASA/JPL CNEOS Close Approach Data API.

Physical Parameters

Diameter
— km
Albedo
—
Density
— g/cm³
Rotation Period
— h
Absolute Magnitude
20.94

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.49714
Condition
0
Orbit ID
—
Data source: NASA JPL Small-Body Database · NASA CNEOS. Orbital periods, perihelion and aphelion speeds, and diameter estimates on this page are computed by SpaceAtlas from the JPL SBDB orbital elements. They are derived quantities, not values copied from the source catalogue.

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