Skip to content
Public Universe
Asteroid Near-Earth

153249

Add to an observing list or journal →

153249 (2001 BW15)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
1.895 AU
True anomaly
117.47°
Distance from Earth
1.19 AU
As of
11 October 2026

Two-body Kepler propagation — accurate to ~0.1% for major planets over decades, less so for highly-perturbed bodies. Use JPL Horizons for high precision.

Orbit of Mercury Orbit of Venus Orbit of Mars Sun Earth — 0.998 AU from the Sun Earth 153249 — 1.895 AU from the Sun 153249
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 153249 is 1.19 AU from Earth today (9.9 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
22h 13m 06s
Declination
+56° 55′ 31″
Constellation
Cepheus
Distance from Earth
1.19 AU
Elongation from the Sun
119.74° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the northern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far south.

From your location

See how high it is right now, whether it is up after civil twilight, and when it rises and sets where you are.

How do I find my coordinates?

Google Maps on a computer

  1. Right-click the spot where you'll be observing.
  2. The first line of the menu is the coordinates, e.g. 51.50722, -0.12758 — click it and they're copied.
  3. Paste them above.

Google Maps on a phone

  1. Press and hold the spot to drop a pin.
  2. The coordinates appear in the search bar (or on the pin's card) — tap to copy, then paste above.

A full Google Maps link works too, but the short maps.app.goo.gl share links don't carry coordinates — copy the numbers instead. We round to about a kilometre; that's all the sky calculation needs.

Know your what3words address? Paste it, e.g. ///filled.count.soap. This is optional — the three words are sent to what3words to convert them, and we don't store the address or the result.

Your location stays in your browser and is sent only for this calculation. Using a what3words address is optional; if you do, the three words go to what3words to be converted and we don't record them. Set a location first, then you can save an email alert for this object. See our privacy policy.

Two-body approximation, good to about a degree for the planets — enough to find the constellation and know whether it is up.

Orbital elements

Semi-major axis
2.117 AU
Eccentricity
0.5907
Inclination
41.28°
Orbital period
3.08 years
Perihelion
0.867 AU
Aphelion
3.368 AU
Longitude of ascending node
328.76°
Argument of periapsis
298.07°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · APO
Apollo
Earth MOID · 21.9 LD
0.0563 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.231

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
1,268
Data arc
37.11 years
First observed
28 August 1989
Last observed
6 October 2026
Residual RMS
0.58 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
7 October 2026

Physical properties

Mean radius
1.58 km

Visual & observation

Geometric albedo
0.177
Absolute magnitude (H)
15.65

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
LINEAR
Discovery date
17 January 2001
Discovery site
Socorro

Also known as 2001 BW15

Apollo Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 6 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 153249 at 2032-08-26 18:37 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2032-08-26 18:37 UTC close approach of 153249. Catalogue miss distance 67.0 LD · 2.57 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2032-08-23 to 2032-08-29, with a mark at UTC midnights and an arrow for the direction of motion. The circle is the Moon’s mean orbit; the Moon is plotted at closest approach. A ray shows the Sun’s direction. The labelled distance is the full separation. The drawn radius is the part that lies in the ecliptic plane. At closest approach the object is south of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 67.0 LD · 2.57 × 10⁷ km 2032-08-26 18:37 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2032-08-26 18:37 UTC close approach of 153249. Catalogue miss distance 67.0 LD · 2.57 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2032-08-23 to 2032-08-29, with a mark at UTC midnights and an arrow for the direction of motion. The circle is the Moon’s mean orbit; the Moon is plotted at closest approach. A ray shows the Sun’s direction. The labelled distance is the full separation. The drawn radius is the part that lies in the ecliptic plane. At closest approach the object is south of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate.

JPL Horizons

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2032-08-26 18:37:00 Earth 0.1721 AU 67.0 LD 28.6 km/s
2069-08-22 09:44:00 Earth 0.0915 AU 35.6 LD 26.9 km/s
2106-08-25 07:08:00 Earth 0.1276 AU 49.6 LD 27.6 km/s
2143-08-22 20:22:00 Earth 0.0872 AU 33.9 LD 26.7 km/s

Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.

Sources