2014 WT202

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 2014 WT202

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 17,475,173 km of Earth in 2032
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2014 WT202 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2014 WT202 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2014 WT202 orbits the sun every 347 days (0.95 years), coming as close as 0.90 AU and reaching as far as 1.03 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2014 WT202 is probably between 0.160 to 0.358 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2014 WT202'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.

2014 WT202 has 21 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Nov. 20, 2032 17,475,173 12.584
May 22, 2033 16,489,699 12.816
Nov. 21, 2033 28,484,340 12.989
Nov. 21, 2051 5,749,682 12.009
May 11, 2052 19,705,250 13.077
Nov. 20, 2069 27,920,263 13.400
May 29, 2070 21,601,491 12.985
Nov. 21, 2070 18,081,521 12.330
Nov. 20, 2088 10,409,477 12.210
May 17, 2089 16,152,073 12.856
Nov. 22, 2107 6,845,554 12.001
May 9, 2108 22,305,008 13.247
Nov. 21, 2125 20,987,198 12.825
May 25, 2126 17,626,603 12.846
Nov. 23, 2126 24,996,092 12.733
Nov. 21, 2144 5,902,413 12.031
May 13, 2145 19,032,332 13.041
June 1, 2163 23,319,648 13.068
Nov. 23, 2163 15,416,357 12.224
Nov. 22, 2181 12,638,272 12.303
May 19, 2182 15,847,446 12.832

Images and Observations

2014 WT202's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 23, 2014. It was last officially observed on Nov. 18, 2015. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 91 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 2014 WT202:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.9656 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.0631
  • Inclination: 23.39°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 58.81°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 185.76°
  • Mean Anomaly: 279.21°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.207 km
  • Magnitude: 21.1

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 347 days (0.95 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 30.27 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.03 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.90 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2014 WT202 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 WT202 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.