2008 XW2

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2008 XW2

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 24,592,603 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2008 XW2 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2008 XW2 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2008 XW2 orbits the sun every 401 days (1.10 years), coming as close as 0.59 AU and reaching as far as 1.54 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2008 XW2 is probably between 0.193 to 0.431 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2008 XW2's orbit is 0.04 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.

2008 XW2 has 18 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Dec. 1, 2019 24,592,603 16.346
May 25, 2039 27,507,762 18.360
May 20, 2050 24,810,781 19.382
May 15, 2061 25,243,713 20.629
Dec. 15, 2064 29,298,973 24.264
May 11, 2072 29,260,550 22.099
Dec. 13, 2075 18,761,539 22.394
Dec. 9, 2086 9,317,414 20.641
Dec. 7, 2097 6,441,306 19.367
Dec. 5, 2108 12,970,201 17.944
Dec. 3, 2119 23,192,160 16.535
May 26, 2139 27,232,217 18.353
May 21, 2150 24,561,415 19.330
May 17, 2161 24,613,704 20.408
May 14, 2172 27,245,037 21.578
Dec. 15, 2175 22,664,109 23.080
Dec. 13, 2186 14,908,557 21.689
Dec. 10, 2197 8,987,828 20.520

Images and Observations

2008 XW2's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 6, 2008. It was last officially observed on Jan. 25, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 82 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 2008 XW2:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.065 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4438
  • Inclination: 26.46°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 71.76°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 259.88°
  • Mean Anomaly: 213.84°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.249 km
  • Magnitude: 20.7

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 401 days (1.10 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 28.89 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.54 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.59 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2008 XW2 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 2008 XW2 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.