1994 WR12

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 1994 WR12

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 11,025,505 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

1994 WR12 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 1994 WR12 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.

1994 WR12 orbits the sun every 240 days (0.66 years), coming as close as 0.46 AU and reaching as far as 1.06 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 1994 WR12 is probably between 0.088 to 0.196 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

1994 WR12'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.

1994 WR12 has 27 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Nov. 22, 2019 11,025,505 12.103
Nov. 29, 2021 6,152,277 8.824
Dec. 24, 2023 14,176,154 8.289
Jan. 14, 2026 14,331,393 9.848
Jan. 17, 2028 27,362,219 14.403
Nov. 21, 2044 17,789,793 13.611
Nov. 25, 2046 1,633,743 9.559
Dec. 21, 2048 13,981,064 8.293
Jan. 16, 2051 15,093,849 10.344
Nov. 22, 2067 6,503,962 11.149
Dec. 8, 2069 11,142,183 8.367
Jan. 8, 2072 13,893,058 8.730
Jan. 17, 2074 22,801,229 13.130
Nov. 23, 2088 26,329,029 15.532
Nov. 23, 2090 2,652,334 10.391
Dec. 9, 2092 11,764,373 8.324
Jan. 6, 2095 14,199,632 8.584
Jan. 17, 2097 18,899,173 11.870
Nov. 23, 2115 16,559,328 13.364
Nov. 26, 2117 2,438,043 9.444
Dec. 22, 2119 14,101,370 8.288
Jan. 16, 2122 14,531,750 9.895
Jan. 18, 2124 29,867,315 15.079
Nov. 23, 2138 17,188,347 13.491
Jan. 18, 2145 17,068,745 11.211
Nov. 24, 2159 21,802,714 14.522
Jan. 18, 2166 19,536,782 12.098

Images and Observations

1994 WR12's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 26, 1994. It was last officially observed on Jan. 25, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 120 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

This asteroid is not considered a viable target for human exploration by the NHATS study.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 1994 WR12:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.7568 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3973
  • Inclination: 6.85°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 62.58°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 206.01°
  • Mean Anomaly: 35.12°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.113 km
  • Magnitude: 22.41

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 240 days (0.66 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 34.31 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.06 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.46 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 1994 WR12 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 1994 WR12 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.