2019 WD5

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2019 WD5

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 8,905,563 km of Earth in 2020
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2019 WD5 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2019 WD5 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2019 WD5 orbits the sun every 760 days (2.08 years), coming as close as 0.75 AU and reaching as far as 2.51 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2019 WD5 is probably between 0.109 to 0.244 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

Close Approaches

2019 WD5's orbit is 0.03 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.

2019 WD5 has 12 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Jan. 6, 2020 8,905,563 16.202
June 10, 2024 11,993,258 15.823
May 27, 2049 19,819,455 11.429
Jan. 21, 2072 16,005,239 11.849
Jan. 12, 2097 5,946,805 13.955
June 19, 2101 26,075,757 19.367
Jan. 25, 2122 18,297,759 11.540
Feb. 15, 2147 29,740,461 11.453
May 23, 2149 23,517,854 10.836
June 4, 2174 13,832,708 12.771
Dec. 31, 2194 28,561,288 20.414
June 6, 2199 12,538,472 13.127

Images and Observations

2019 WD5's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 25, 2019. It was last officially observed on Nov. 7, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 83 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 2019 WD5:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.63 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5427
  • Inclination: 4.74°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 312.08°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 228.24°
  • Mean Anomaly: 255.61°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.141 km
  • Magnitude: 21.93

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 760 days (2.08 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 23.33 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.51 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.75 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2019 WD5 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 2019 WD5 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.