Discovery [1] [2] | |
---|---|
Discovered by | Pan-STARRS 1 |
Discovery site | Haleakalā Obs. |
Discovery date | 18 February 2015 |
Designations | |
2015 DR215 | |
NEO · Atira · PHA [3] [1] | |
Orbital characteristics [3] | |
Epoch 21 January 2022 ( JD 2459600.5) | |
Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
Observation arc | 7.12 yr (2,602 days) |
Aphelion | 0.9809 AU |
Perihelion | 0.3522 AU |
0.6665 AU | |
Eccentricity | 0.4716 |
0.54 yr (199 days) | |
74.459 ° | |
1° 48m 40.325s / day | |
Inclination | 4.085° |
314.961° | |
42.298° | |
Earth MOID | 0.044412 AU (6,643,900 km) |
Physical characteristics | |
Mean diameter | 205 m [4] |
0.266 [4] | |
Sr [4] | |
20.51 [3] | |
2015 DR215 is a stony near-Earth asteroid of the Atira class residing within Earth's orbit. It was discovered on 18 February 2015 by the Pan-STARRS 1 survey at Haleakalā Observatory at Maui, Hawaiʻi. [1] [2] The asteroid has a diameter of about 200 m (660 ft) [4] and makes close approaches within 0.05 AU (7.5 million km; 4.6 million mi) of Earth, making it a potentially hazardous object. [3] On 11 March 2022, it made a close approach 0.045 AU (6.7 million km; 4.2 million mi) from Earth, [3] reaching a peak apparent magnitude of 17 as it streaked across the southern sky. [1]
2015 DR215 was discovered on 18 February 2015 by the Pan-STARRS 1 survey at Haleakalā Observatory at Maui, Hawaiʻi. [2] It was first observed at apparent magnitude 20.7, located in the southern sky 28 degrees below the ecliptic with an angular separation ( solar elongation) of 76 degrees from the Sun. [2] Follow-up observations from the Mauna Kea Observatory and Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory commenced, establishing an observation arc of 12 days until its discovery announcement by the Minor Planet Center on 2 March 2015. [2]
On 5 March 2016, 2015 DR215 was recovered by the ESA Optical Ground Station at apparent magnitude 19, at solar elongations below 56 degrees. [5] It was observed to be about 0.5 degrees away from its predicted positions in March 2016. [5] The recovery observations significantly reduced the asteroid's orbital uncertainty, bringing its uncertainty parameter down from 9 to 3. [2] [5]
As of 2022 [update], 2015 DR215 has been observed for over 7 years, with a well-determined orbit at an uncertainty parameter of 0. [3]
2015 DR215 is one of a small number of Atira class asteroids that are orbiting entirely within the Earth's orbit. [6] The taxonomic class of 2015 DR215 in the Bus–DeMeo scheme is Sr, indicating a stony composition. [4]
As of 2023, this minor planet has neither been numbered nor named by the Minor Planet Center.