434633 (2005 WB1)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 434633 (2005 WB1)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field (0.31 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 8,709,510 km of Earth in 2025
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

434633 (2005 WB1) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2005 WB1 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2005 WB1 orbits the sun every 519 days (1.42 years), coming as close as 0.81 AU and reaching as far as 1.71 AU from the sun. 2005 WB1 is about 0.3 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 90% of asteroids but tiny compared to large asteroids, comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2005 WB1's orbit is 0.05 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.

2005 WB1 has 15 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
May 25, 2025 8,709,510 16.283
Nov. 12, 2032 26,564,681 13.290
Nov. 17, 2049 23,262,422 18.074
May 21, 2052 20,478,136 18.293
May 31, 2069 20,476,699 13.386
Nov. 14, 2076 15,652,009 16.107
May 29, 2096 11,626,663 14.465
Nov. 15, 2103 15,723,976 15.094
May 30, 2123 9,939,294 14.753
Nov. 15, 2130 15,744,959 15.049
May 31, 2150 13,160,097 14.265
Nov. 15, 2157 15,000,302 15.830
June 2, 2177 24,523,153 12.999
Nov. 18, 2184 20,855,041 17.667
May 24, 2187 20,690,869 18.282

Images and Observations

2005 WB1's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 21, 2005. It was last officially observed on Dec. 24, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 206 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 2005 WB1:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.264 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3553
  • Inclination: 22.88°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 61.41°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 265.74°
  • Mean Anomaly: 246.66°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 0.31000 km
  • Magnitude: 20.67
  • Albedo: 0.039

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 519 days (1.42 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 26.50 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.71 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.81 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 434633 (2005 WB1) 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 2005 WB1 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.