2017 WN16

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2017 WN16

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 20,653,557 km of Earth in 2027
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2017 WN16 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2017 WN16 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2017 WN16 orbits the sun every 525 days (1.44 years), coming as close as 0.59 AU and reaching as far as 1.96 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2017 WN16 is probably between 0.130 to 0.291 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

Close Approaches

2017 WN16's orbit is 0.01 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.

2017 WN16 has 10 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Dec. 4, 2027 20,653,557 26.272
Dec. 4, 2050 23,916,074 26.820
Nov. 21, 2063 29,112,759 18.969
Nov. 22, 2086 25,954,660 19.346
Dec. 5, 2096 27,548,497 27.455
Dec. 1, 2119 6,406,973 23.931
May 21, 2125 21,346,151 22.495
Nov. 29, 2142 1,820,937 22.832
May 16, 2148 20,944,711 23.970
Nov. 22, 2165 27,385,119 19.171

Images and Observations

2017 WN16's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 24, 2017. It was last officially observed on Jan. 20, 2018. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 63 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 2017 WN16:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.273 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5365
  • Inclination: 30.64°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 246.83°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 79.05°
  • Mean Anomaly: 57.88°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.168 km
  • Magnitude: 21.55

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 525 days (1.44 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 26.38 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.96 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.59 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2017 WN16 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 2017 WN16 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.