Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 7,488,752 km of Earth in 2021
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2020 WT5 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2020 WT5 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.

2020 WT5 orbits the sun every 740 days (2.03 years), coming as close as 0.98 AU and reaching as far as 2.23 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2020 WT5 is probably between 0.094 to 0.211 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2020 WT5'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.

2020 WT5 has 9 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Jan. 20, 2021 7,488,752 8.625
Feb. 6, 2023 14,005,031 10.879
Jan. 1, 2098 21,557,953 8.811
Jan. 26, 2100 3,072,935 9.001
Feb. 9, 2102 16,668,992 11.248
Dec. 24, 2186 26,791,638 9.462
Jan. 18, 2189 10,591,889 8.513
Feb. 2, 2191 6,256,788 9.750
Feb. 15, 2193 27,200,538 12.922

Images and Observations

2020 WT5's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 30, 2018. It was last officially observed on Feb. 20, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 146 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 2020 WT5:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.601 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3902
  • Inclination: 12.39°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 129.58°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 333.27°
  • Mean Anomaly: 118.42°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.122 km
  • Magnitude: 22.25

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 740 days (2.03 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 23.54 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.23 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.98 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2020 WT5 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 2020 WT5 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.