418849 (2008 WM64)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 418849 (2008 WM64)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 11,753,876 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

418849 (2008 WM64) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2008 WM64 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2008 WM64 orbits the sun every 368 days (1.01 years), coming as close as 0.90 AU and reaching as far as 1.11 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2008 WM64 is probably between 0.214 to 0.479 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

The rotation of 2008 WM64 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 2.41 hours.

Close Approaches

2008 WM64'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.

2008 WM64 has 19 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Dec. 24, 2019 11,753,876 18.003
Dec. 25, 2020 18,546,559 18.495
Dec. 26, 2021 25,806,471 19.100
June 16, 2122 23,484,419 18.936
June 19, 2123 16,543,518 18.396
June 20, 2124 10,412,663 17.954
June 23, 2125 6,759,186 17.647
June 25, 2126 8,574,313 17.432
June 27, 2127 13,900,869 17.315
June 29, 2128 20,312,791 17.307
July 1, 2129 27,089,643 17.404
Dec. 21, 2130 24,872,751 17.208
Dec. 22, 2131 18,098,597 17.152
Dec. 22, 2132 11,667,076 17.195
Dec. 23, 2133 6,416,094 17.350
Dec. 24, 2134 5,814,576 17.585
Dec. 25, 2135 10,758,430 17.922
Dec. 26, 2136 17,421,292 18.405
Dec. 27, 2137 24,636,946 18.987

Images and Observations

2008 WM64's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 24, 2008. It was last officially observed on Jan. 21, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 322 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 2008 WM64:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.006 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1064
  • Inclination: 33.52°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 91.43°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 256.76°
  • Mean Anomaly: 335.2°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.276 km
  • Magnitude: 20.47

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 368 days (1.01 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 29.74 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.11 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.90 AU
  • Rotation Period: 2.41 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 418849 (2008 WM64) 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 2008 WM64 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.