2012 WH1

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 2012 WH1

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 23,422,853 km of Earth in 2023
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2012 WH1 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2012 WH1 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.

2012 WH1 orbits the sun every 270 days (0.74 years), coming as close as 0.54 AU and reaching as far as 1.09 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2012 WH1 is probably between 0.029 to 0.129 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2012 WH1's orbit is 0.01 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

2012 WH1 has 31 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Sept. 20, 2023 23,422,853 12.724
Oct. 13, 2026 15,346,721 6.959
Dec. 2, 2029 3,670,288 9.254
Sept. 20, 2037 25,350,111 13.180
Oct. 22, 2040 15,753,838 6.965
Dec. 3, 2043 15,634,493 11.768
Sept. 20, 2051 13,775,383 10.033
Nov. 16, 2054 11,733,137 6.991
Sept. 24, 2065 11,140,767 7.769
Nov. 27, 2068 5,056,369 7.679
Sept. 21, 2079 11,202,351 8.923
Nov. 18, 2082 11,045,658 7.037
Sept. 20, 2093 14,316,031 10.265
Nov. 1, 2096 15,340,946 6.977
Dec. 3, 2099 12,520,284 11.104
Sept. 22, 2110 11,063,643 8.925
Nov. 8, 2113 14,558,757 7.006
Dec. 4, 2116 15,442,790 11.722
Oct. 8, 2127 13,670,306 7.027
Dec. 3, 2130 2,333,265 8.784
Sept. 23, 2138 27,652,315 13.783
Oct. 21, 2141 15,247,788 6.973
Dec. 4, 2144 14,189,017 11.404
Sept. 22, 2152 13,699,407 10.163
Nov. 17, 2155 11,955,768 7.009
Sept. 25, 2166 10,272,140 8.163
Nov. 28, 2169 6,404,234 7.465
Sept. 28, 2180 10,936,602 7.537
Nov. 30, 2183 5,181,421 7.664
Sept. 26, 2194 10,207,375 7.933
Nov. 28, 2197 6,527,904 7.444

Images and Observations

2012 WH1's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 19, 2012. It was last officially observed on Dec. 2, 2012. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 97 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2012 WH1 can be reached with a journey of 362 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 11.377 km/s. To put this into perspective, the delta-v to launch a rocket to Low-Earth Orbit is 9.7 km/s. There are 148 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2012 WH1.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2012 WH1:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.8171 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3364
  • Inclination: 4.61°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 63.96°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 147.31°
  • Mean Anomaly: 96.62°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.079 km
  • Magnitude: 23.9

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 270 days (0.74 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 32.92 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.09 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.54 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2012 WH1 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 2012 WH1 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.