450263 (2003 WD158)

Small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 450263 (2003 WD158)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge
  • Will pass within 7,868,438 km of Earth in 2021
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

450263 (2003 WD158) is a small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2003 WD158 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2003 WD158 orbits the sun every 622 days (1.70 years), coming as close as 0.84 AU and reaching as far as 2.01 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2003 WD158 is probably between 0.456 to 1.019 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than ~97% of asteroids but small compared to large asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge.

The rotation of 2003 WD158 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 1540.00 hours.

Close Approaches

2003 WD158'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.

2003 WD158 has 12 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
June 15, 2021 7,868,438 13.168
June 26, 2038 29,601,901 18.318
June 14, 2067 9,421,972 12.721
Jan. 21, 2079 25,973,918 12.250
June 22, 2084 18,200,838 16.336
June 5, 2113 26,654,659 10.270
Jan. 19, 2125 26,966,017 15.025
June 18, 2130 6,361,468 13.652
June 27, 2147 27,097,642 17.915
June 10, 2176 17,783,850 11.364
Jan. 21, 2188 25,590,589 13.868
June 20, 2193 8,790,950 14.648

Images and Observations

2003 WD158's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 30, 2003. It was last officially observed on July 13, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 5,279 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 2003 WD158:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.426 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4093
  • Inclination: 16.72°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 92.22°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 102.34°
  • Mean Anomaly: 145.73°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.588 km
  • Magnitude: 18.83

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 622 days (1.70 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 24.94 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.01 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.84 AU
  • Rotation Period: 1,540.00 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 450263 (2003 WD158) 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 2003 WD158 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.