2012 WS3

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2012 WS3

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 25,997,868 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2012 WS3 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2012 WS3 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 WS3 orbits the sun every 428 days (1.17 years), coming as close as 0.80 AU and reaching as far as 1.42 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2012 WS3 is probably between 0.011 to 0.049 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2012 WS3'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.

2012 WS3 has 6 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Nov. 22, 2019 25,997,868 13.926
May 27, 2025 10,449,840 6.816
Oct. 29, 2046 18,257,470 5.512
Nov. 16, 2053 9,427,714 10.623
May 21, 2059 814,227 8.982
Nov. 24, 2060 24,408,180 13.624

NASA Sentry has assessed impact risk for 55 very close approach scenarios. Here are the top scenarios ordered by probability of impact:

Date Probability of Impact (%) Impact Energy (Mt)
May 23, 2117 0.00147 0.3543
May 23, 2117 0.00065 0.3559
May 23, 2106 0.00016 0.3521
May 23, 2106 0.00015 0.3521
May 23, 2105 0.00012 0.3515
May 23, 2110 0.00012 0.3538
May 22, 2098 0.00010 0.3535
May 22, 2082 0.00009 0.3536
May 23, 2111 0.00006 0.3532
May 22, 2112 0.00005 0.3522
May 23, 2118 0.00005 0.352
May 23, 2117 0.00004 0.3531
May 23, 2122 0.00004 0.3529
May 23, 2113 0.00004 0.3518
May 23, 2118 0.00003 0.3525
May 22, 2090 0.00003 0.3535
May 23, 2110 0.00003 0.3553
May 23, 2111 0.00003 0.3527
May 22, 2117 0.00002 0.3527
May 23, 2118 0.00002 0.3536
May 22, 2116 0.00002 0.3526
May 23, 2106 0.00002 0.3535
May 23, 2111 0.00002 0.3529
May 22, 2116 0.00002 0.3525
May 22, 2120 0.00002 0.353
May 22, 2116 0.00001 0.3523
May 23, 2118 0.00001 0.3526
May 23, 2102 0.00001 0.3579
May 22, 2117 0.00001 0.3531
May 23, 2109 0.00001 0.3535
May 23, 2119 0.00001 0.3536
May 22, 2116 0.00001 0.3524
May 22, 2109 0.00001 0.3535
May 22, 2101 0.00001 0.3533
May 23, 2111 0.00001 0.3529
May 22, 2086 0.00001 0.3531
May 21, 2096 0.00001 0.3526
May 22, 2085 0.00000 0.3508
May 22, 2113 0.00000 0.3515
May 22, 2113 0.00000 0.3515
May 22, 2109 0.00000 0.3532
May 22, 2117 0.00000 0.3535
Nov. 24, 2114 0.00000 0.3533
May 22, 2090 0.00000 0.3569
May 22, 2120 0.00000 0.3535
May 22, 2100 0.00000 0.3518
May 23, 2118 0.00000 0.3531
May 22, 2117 0.00000 0.3536
May 23, 2119 0.00000 0.3519
May 23, 2114 0.00000 0.3526
May 22, 2105 0.00000 0.3529
May 22, 2099 0.00000 0.3526
May 22, 2094 0.00000 0.3521
May 23, 2105 0.00000 0.3524
May 23, 2106 0.00000 0.358

Images and Observations

2012 WS3's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 20, 2012. It was last officially observed on Dec. 13, 2012. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 56 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2012 WS3 can be reached with a journey of 410 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 10.202 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 5,441 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2012 WS3.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2012 WS3:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.111 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.2793
  • Inclination: 3.87°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 241.44°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 86.3°
  • Mean Anomaly: 141.56°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.030 km
  • Magnitude: 26.0

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 428 days (1.17 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 28.24 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.42 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.80 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2012 WS3 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 WS3 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.