2005 WR2

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2005 WR2

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building
  • Will pass within 14,925,776 km of Earth in 2026
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2005 WR2 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2005 WR2 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.

2005 WR2 orbits the sun every 693 days (1.90 years), coming as close as 0.70 AU and reaching as far as 2.37 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2005 WR2 is probably between 0.332 to 0.741 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 90% of asteroids but tiny compared to large asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building.

Close Approaches

2005 WR2's orbit is 0.08 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is a wide berth between this asteroid and Earth at all times.

2005 WR2 has 11 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
June 6, 2026 14,925,776 14.475
Nov. 16, 2041 15,165,416 16.057
May 23, 2045 22,671,969 20.045
June 9, 2081 17,109,747 13.884
Nov. 20, 2096 17,322,584 17.972
May 29, 2100 13,726,576 17.898
Nov. 12, 2115 20,788,092 13.295
June 8, 2155 13,387,109 14.751
Nov. 21, 2170 14,967,416 16.961
May 28, 2174 17,627,621 19.013
Nov. 6, 2189 27,915,229 11.521

Images and Observations

2005 WR2's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 23, 2005. It was last officially observed on Dec. 25, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 187 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 WR2:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.532 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5463
  • Inclination: 7.84°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 282.3°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 49.66°
  • Mean Anomaly: 175.94°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.428 km
  • Magnitude: 19.52

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 693 days (1.90 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 24.05 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.37 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.70 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2005 WR2 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 WR2 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.