2005 LW3

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2005 LW3

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 1,139,901 km of Earth in 2022
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2005 LW3 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2005 LW3 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2005 LW3 orbits the sun every 630 days (1.72 years), coming as close as 0.77 AU and reaching as far as 2.11 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2005 LW3 is probably between 0.123 to 0.275 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

The rotation of 2005 LW3 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 3.60 hours.

Close Approaches

2005 LW3'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.

2005 LW3 has 12 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Nov. 23, 2022 1,139,901 13.494
Nov. 9, 2041 18,131,900 10.007
June 27, 2048 13,100,611 11.244
Oct. 27, 2072 25,527,926 9.636
June 17, 2079 16,445,559 15.859
Nov. 22, 2084 450,652 13.297
Nov. 28, 2103 7,625,778 14.707
June 19, 2117 14,823,898 15.506
June 30, 2136 14,416,294 10.915
Nov. 21, 2148 5,419,743 12.193
Nov. 30, 2167 11,375,329 15.441
June 24, 2181 8,889,753 13.476

Images and Observations

2005 LW3's orbit is determined by observations dating back to June 5, 2005. It was last officially observed on Jan. 8, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 142 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 2005 LW3:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.439 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4638
  • Inclination: 6.02°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 59.58°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 288.67°
  • Mean Anomaly: 195.61°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.159 km
  • Magnitude: 21.67

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 630 days (1.72 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 24.85 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.11 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.77 AU
  • Rotation Period: 3.60 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2005 LW3 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 2005 LW3 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.