2018 WU

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 2018 WU

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 11,809,951 km of Earth in 2022
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2018 WU is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2018 WU 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 WU orbits the sun every 210 days (0.57 years), coming as close as 0.37 AU and reaching as far as 1.01 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2018 WU is probably between 0.031 to 0.068 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2018 WU's orbit is 0.02 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.

2018 WU has 28 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Nov. 9, 2022 11,809,951 11.999
Nov. 6, 2026 26,151,772 15.145
Dec. 4, 2037 19,452,214 13.256
Nov. 28, 2041 7,651,923 11.013
Nov. 17, 2045 3,413,503 10.726
Nov. 8, 2049 13,198,638 12.287
Nov. 6, 2053 28,427,882 15.682
Dec. 3, 2064 16,391,004 12.572
Nov. 6, 2076 17,125,438 13.129
Dec. 6, 2087 26,912,327 14.921
Dec. 2, 2091 12,537,209 11.772
Nov. 22, 2095 3,521,427 10.653
Nov. 12, 2099 7,949,979 11.373
Nov. 8, 2103 21,059,876 14.019
Dec. 7, 2114 24,036,064 14.237
Dec. 2, 2118 10,807,469 11.448
Nov. 21, 2122 3,089,495 10.644
Nov. 12, 2126 8,954,610 11.545
Nov. 7, 2130 22,185,434 14.290
Dec. 6, 2141 23,846,097 14.188
Dec. 2, 2145 10,944,509 11.457
Nov. 22, 2149 3,231,593 10.640
Nov. 12, 2153 8,081,488 11.407
Nov. 7, 2157 20,457,555 13.910
Dec. 6, 2168 26,889,963 14.894
Dec. 3, 2172 13,528,478 11.925
Nov. 8, 2184 16,062,506 12.967
Dec. 6, 2199 17,533,495 12.735

Images and Observations

2018 WU's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 18, 2018. It was last officially observed on Nov. 28, 2018. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 103 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 2018 WU:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.6911 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4591
  • Inclination: 14.81°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 237.47°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 0.46°
  • Mean Anomaly: 313.36°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.039 km
  • Magnitude: 24.7

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 210 days (0.57 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 35.80 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.01 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.37 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2018 WU 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 2018 WU 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.