2015 DR215

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
Discovery[1][2]
Discovered byPan-STARRS 1
Discovery siteHaleakalā Obs.
Discovery date18 February 2015
Designations
2015 DR215
NEO · Atira · PHA[3][1]
Orbital characteristics[3]
Epoch 21 January 2022 (JD 2459600.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc7.12 yr (2,602 days)
Aphelion0.9809 AU
Perihelion0.3522 AU
0.6665 AU
Eccentricity0.4716
0.54 yr (199 days)
74.459°
1° 48m 40.325s / day
Inclination4.085°
314.961°
42.298°
Earth MOID0.044412 AU (6,643,900 km)
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter
205 m[4]
0.266[4]
Sr[4]
20.51[3]

    Discovery

    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, 2015 DR215 has been observed for over 7 years, with a well-determined orbit at an uncertainty parameter of 0.[3]

    Classification

    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]

    Numbering and naming

    As of 2023, this minor planet has neither been numbered nor named by the Minor Planet Center.

    References
    1. "2015 DR215". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
    2. "MPEC 2015-E12 : 2015 DR215". Minor Planet Electronic Circulars. Minor Planet Center. 2 March 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
    3. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: (2015 DR215)" (2022-04-04 last obs.). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
    4. Perna, D.; Barucci, M. A.; Fulchignoni, M.; Popescu, M.; Belskaya, I.; Fornasier, S.; et al. (August 2018). "A spectroscopic survey of the small near-Earth asteroid population: Peculiar taxonomic distribution and phase reddening". Planetary and Space Science. 157: 82–95. arXiv:1803.08953. Bibcode:2018P&SS..157...82P. doi:10.1016/j.pss.2018.03.008.
    5. "MPEC 2016-E72 : 2015 DR215". Minor Planet Electronic Circulars. Minor Planet Center. 7 March 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
    6. de la Fuente Marcos, C.; de la Fuente Marcos, R. (August 2019). "Understanding the evolution of Atira-class asteroid 2019 AQ3, a major step towards the future discovery of the Vatira population". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 487 (2): 2742–2752. arXiv:1905.08695. Bibcode:2019MNRAS.487.2742D. doi:10.1093/mnras/stz1437.
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