Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 23,287,418 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2022 WS10 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2022 WS10 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.

2022 WS10 orbits the sun every 534 days (1.46 years), coming as close as 0.88 AU and reaching as far as 1.70 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2022 WS10 is probably between 0.009 to 0.038 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2022 WS10's orbit is 0.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

2022 WS10 has 5 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Oct. 15, 2019 23,287,418 7.430
Nov. 27, 2022 273,869 9.520
July 18, 2025 19,358,685 8.841
July 25, 2044 22,481,837 6.658
Dec. 7, 2123 16,637,341 12.368

Images and Observations

2022 WS10's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 29, 2022. It was last officially observed on Dec. 1, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 42 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2022 WS10 can be reached with a journey of 370 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 11.597 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 73 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2022 WS10.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2022 WS10:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.288 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3191
  • Inclination: 8.84°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 64.55°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 303.07°
  • Mean Anomaly: 225.58°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.023 km
  • Magnitude: 26.56

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 534 days (1.46 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 26.24 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.70 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.88 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2022 WS10 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.