385186 (1994 AW1)

Small Amor-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Amor-class Asteroids » 385186 (1994 AW1)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Amor-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge (0.81 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 16,736,377 km of Earth in 2022
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

385186 (1994 AW1) is a small asteroid whose orbit approaches the orbit of Earth but does not cross it. NASA JPL has classified 1994 AW1 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

1994 AW1 orbits the sun every 424 days (1.16 years), coming as close as 1.02 AU and reaching as far as 1.19 AU from the sun. 1994 AW1 is about 0.8 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than ~97% of asteroids but small compared to large asteroids, comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge.

The rotation of 1994 AW1 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 2.52 hours.

1994 AW1's spectral type None (Tholen) / Sa (SMASSII) indicates that it is likely to contain and .

Close Approaches

1994 AW1'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.

1994 AW1 has 15 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
July 9, 2022 16,736,377 13.183
Jan. 9, 2030 27,664,879 12.429
July 17, 2051 16,774,424 12.573
July 11, 2058 9,730,128 12.799
Jan. 7, 2066 27,438,403 12.464
July 17, 2087 15,961,064 12.545
July 10, 2094 12,340,936 12.934
Jan. 9, 2102 27,450,331 12.433
July 16, 2123 9,932,373 12.442
July 10, 2130 17,438,929 13.237
Jan. 10, 2138 27,786,097 12.424
July 17, 2159 13,121,805 12.485
July 11, 2166 13,196,236 12.977
Jan. 9, 2174 27,428,782 12.447
July 18, 2195 17,751,216 12.596

Images and Observations

1994 AW1's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Dec. 29, 1986. It was last officially observed on March 21, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 2,692 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 1994 AW1:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.105 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.0755
  • Inclination: 24.1°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 290.34°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 37.16°
  • Mean Anomaly: 335.74°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 0.81100 km
  • Magnitude: 17.65
  • Albedo: 0.223
  • Spectral type (SMASS): Sa

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 424 days (1.16 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 28.35 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.19 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 1.02 AU
  • Rotation Period: 2.52 hours
  • Approx. Composition: and .

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 385186 (1994 AW1) 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 above comparison is an artistic rendering that uses available data on the diameter of 1994 AW1 to create an approximate landscape rendering with Mount Everest in the background. This approximation is built for full-resolution desktop browsers. Shape, color, and texture of asteroid are imagined.