442523 (2011 WU95)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 442523 (2011 WU95)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building
  • Will pass within 8,031,868 km of Earth in 2041
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

442523 (2011 WU95) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2011 WU95 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2011 WU95 orbits the sun every 786 days (2.15 years), coming as close as 0.96 AU and reaching as far as 2.37 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2011 WU95 is probably between 0.333 to 0.745 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 90% of asteroids but tiny compared to large asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building.

Close Approaches

2011 WU95'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.

2011 WU95 has 10 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
June 16, 2041 8,031,868 9.807
Sept. 6, 2056 17,502,356 8.125
June 21, 2084 7,546,671 8.800
Sept. 22, 2099 21,982,622 11.116
June 8, 2112 21,827,762 13.021
Sept. 9, 2127 17,373,285 8.133
Sept. 7, 2155 17,430,485 7.875
June 6, 2168 27,303,863 14.149
Sept. 19, 2183 18,470,052 9.695
June 14, 2196 13,461,978 11.235

Images and Observations

2011 WU95's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 30, 2011. It was last officially observed on Feb. 7, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 359 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 2011 WU95:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.667 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4246
  • Inclination: 6.72°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 67.68°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 242.4°
  • Mean Anomaly: 252.28°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.430 km
  • Magnitude: 19.51

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 786 days (2.15 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 23.07 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.37 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.96 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 442523 (2011 WU95) 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 2011 WU95 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.