2016 YW7

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2016 YW7

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 29,399,347 km of Earth in 2024
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2016 YW7 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2016 YW7 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2016 YW7 orbits the sun every 405 days (1.11 years), coming as close as 0.59 AU and reaching as far as 1.55 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2016 YW7 is probably between 0.211 to 0.472 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2016 YW7'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.

2016 YW7 has 20 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
April 4, 2024 29,399,347 20.904
Nov. 16, 2037 13,567,737 18.885
Nov. 13, 2047 5,508,940 16.766
Nov. 10, 2057 9,639,718 15.249
April 25, 2065 28,857,998 13.060
Nov. 7, 2067 20,475,131 13.318
April 19, 2075 20,832,663 14.610
April 13, 2085 16,925,995 16.733
April 7, 2095 24,623,314 19.794
Nov. 20, 2108 23,597,779 20.840
Nov. 17, 2118 11,500,036 18.435
Nov. 13, 2128 5,771,131 16.668
Nov. 12, 2138 9,228,849 15.390
April 27, 2146 29,705,893 12.887
Nov. 8, 2148 20,578,675 13.306
April 19, 2156 19,856,424 14.820
April 15, 2166 16,597,334 16.606
April 10, 2176 20,153,293 18.624
April 6, 2186 29,719,662 21.069
Nov. 20, 2199 19,715,848 20.076

Images and Observations

2016 YW7's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 23, 2016. It was last officially observed on Dec. 22, 2017. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 67 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 2016 YW7:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.071 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4489
  • Inclination: 16.32°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 223.97°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 81.03°
  • Mean Anomaly: 129.03°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.273 km
  • Magnitude: 20.5

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 405 days (1.11 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 28.77 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.55 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.59 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2016 YW7 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 2016 YW7 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.