Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 23,095,565 km of Earth in 2021
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2014 WF201 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2014 WF201 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.

2014 WF201 orbits the sun every 428 days (1.17 years), coming as close as 0.99 AU and reaching as far as 1.23 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2014 WF201 is probably between 0.013 to 0.059 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

The rotation of 2014 WF201 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 0.47 hours.

Close Approaches

2014 WF201's orbit is 0.02 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.

2014 WF201 has 19 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
June 30, 2021 23,095,565 4.651
Nov. 25, 2021 5,389,477 5.500
June 2, 2028 28,605,377 5.367
Nov. 14, 2055 14,240,516 4.753
July 3, 2062 23,373,426 4.592
Nov. 25, 2062 4,716,243 5.418
Oct. 6, 2082 29,804,329 6.343
June 28, 2089 24,440,784 4.717
Nov. 26, 2089 9,379,545 5.991
July 13, 2109 23,740,601 4.295
Nov. 23, 2109 2,270,212 5.087
June 19, 2129 26,771,006 5.066
Dec. 2, 2129 20,344,210 7.571
Nov. 13, 2142 15,558,322 4.905
July 30, 2162 24,023,981 3.562
Nov. 20, 2162 5,957,976 4.750
June 1, 2169 29,688,521 5.476
July 14, 2189 24,079,789 4.262
Nov. 23, 2189 2,211,164 5.112

Images and Observations

2014 WF201's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 23, 2014. It was last officially observed on Nov. 28, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 161 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2014 WF201 can be reached with a journey of 370 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 7.01 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 68,845 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2014 WF201.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2014 WF201:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.111 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1107
  • Inclination: 8.5°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 63.06°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 326.65°
  • Mean Anomaly: 217.75°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.036 km
  • Magnitude: 25.59

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 428 days (1.17 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 28.24 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.23 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.99 AU
  • Rotation Period: 0.47 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2014 WF201 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 2014 WF201 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.