2015 WZ12

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
• Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
• Will pass within 13,496,084 km of Earth in 2023
• Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

2015 WZ12 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2015 WZ12 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.

2015 WZ12 orbits the sun every 224 days (0.61 years), coming as close as 0.42 AU and reaching as far as 1.02 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2015 WZ12 is probably between 0.015 to 0.033 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2015 WZ12'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.

2015 WZ12 has 29 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Images and Observations

2015 WZ12's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 30, 2015. It was last officially observed on Dec. 6, 2015. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 71 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 2015 WZ12:

• 33342 (1998 WT24)
• 99907 (1989 VA)
• 322756 (2001 CK32)

References

• JPL Small Body Database
• Mission Design
• Sky Finder Chart

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2015 WZ12 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.