2018 WH

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
• Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
• Will pass within 959,068 km of Earth in 2022
• Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

2018 WH is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2018 WH 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.

2018 WH orbits the sun every 494 days (1.35 years), coming as close as 0.88 AU and reaching as far as 1.57 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2018 WH is probably between 0.002 to 0.009 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2018 WH's orbit is 0.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is very close to Earth's orbit.

2018 WH has 1 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

NASA Sentry has assessed impact risk for 360 very close approach scenarios. Here are the top scenarios ordered by probability of impact:

Images and Observations

2018 WH's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 17, 2018. It was last officially observed on Nov. 21, 2018. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 37 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2018 WH can be reached with a journey of 354 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 8.152 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 34,096 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2018 WH.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2018 WH:

• 22753 (1998 WT)
• 87025 (2000 JT66)
• 137062 (1998 WM)

References

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

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2018 WH 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.