467309 (1996 AW1)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 467309 (1996 AW1)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building
  • Will pass within 10,732,822 km of Earth in 2037
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

467309 (1996 AW1) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 1996 AW1 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

1996 AW1 orbits the sun every 694 days (1.90 years), coming as close as 0.74 AU and reaching as far as 2.33 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 1996 AW1 is probably between 0.272 to 0.608 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.

The rotation of 1996 AW1 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 10.77 hours.

Close Approaches

1996 AW1's orbit is 0.04 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.

1996 AW1 has 11 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
June 26, 2037 10,732,822 12.951
July 2, 2056 17,249,273 11.708
Nov. 4, 2073 26,102,175 10.405
July 17, 2075 27,063,414 10.829
Nov. 19, 2092 14,307,187 12.546
Nov. 28, 2111 10,488,645 15.250
Dec. 6, 2130 25,501,775 19.333
June 17, 2134 14,103,886 17.169
June 22, 2153 5,873,791 14.943
June 23, 2172 5,639,396 14.544
June 29, 2191 11,003,077 12.846

Images and Observations

1996 AW1's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Jan. 14, 1996. It was last officially observed on Feb. 12, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 355 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 1996 AW1:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.534 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5181
  • Inclination: 4.77°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 117.52°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 229.45°
  • Mean Anomaly: 242.8°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.351 km
  • Magnitude: 19.95

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 694 days (1.90 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 24.05 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.33 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.74 AU
  • Rotation Period: 10.77 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 467309 (1996 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 below comparison is an artistic rendering that uses available data on the diameter of 1996 AW1 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.