2011 WA

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 2011 WA

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 17,926,343 km of Earth in 2025
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2011 WA is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2011 WA as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2011 WA orbits the sun every 284 days (0.78 years), coming as close as 0.60 AU and reaching as far as 1.09 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2011 WA 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.

Close Approaches

2011 WA's orbit is 0.05 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.

2011 WA has 18 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Nov. 14, 2025 17,926,343 15.322
Nov. 15, 2032 27,294,890 15.284
Nov. 12, 2056 22,321,473 18.044
Nov. 12, 2063 12,771,836 16.857
Nov. 12, 2070 7,532,873 16.061
Nov. 13, 2077 11,105,200 15.572
Nov. 14, 2084 19,506,289 15.290
Nov. 17, 2091 29,278,411 15.320
Nov. 13, 2115 20,662,632 17.832
Nov. 13, 2122 11,205,676 16.675
Nov. 13, 2129 7,487,013 15.981
Nov. 14, 2136 12,534,675 15.489
Nov. 16, 2143 21,195,457 15.277
Nov. 14, 2167 29,343,575 19.011
Nov. 13, 2174 18,534,979 17.561
Nov. 13, 2181 10,041,990 16.549
Nov. 13, 2188 7,794,119 15.869
Nov. 15, 2195 13,750,432 15.438

Images and Observations

2011 WA's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 16, 2011. It was last officially observed on Nov. 20, 2018. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 256 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 2011 WA:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.8447 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.2856
  • Inclination: 30.38°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 51.51°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 206.11°
  • Mean Anomaly: 218.3°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.159 km
  • Magnitude: 21.67

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 284 days (0.78 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 32.36 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.09 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.60 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2011 WA 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 2011 WA 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.