469896 (2005 WC1)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 469896 (2005 WC1)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 18,951,041 km of Earth in 2034
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

469896 (2005 WC1) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2005 WC1 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2005 WC1 orbits the sun every 605 days (1.66 years), coming as close as 0.72 AU and reaching as far as 2.08 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2005 WC1 is probably between 0.195 to 0.437 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

The rotation of 2005 WC1 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 2.58 hours.

Close Approaches

2005 WC1's orbit is 0.01 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 WC1 has 13 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
June 6, 2034 18,951,041 18.919
May 31, 2039 18,755,959 15.123
Dec. 21, 2063 14,322,378 15.211
Dec. 11, 2068 9,725,063 18.903
June 9, 2092 28,599,412 21.108
June 3, 2097 14,110,844 16.825
May 29, 2102 29,578,319 13.156
Dec. 24, 2121 20,326,409 14.378
Dec. 14, 2126 5,419,998 18.179
June 7, 2150 17,037,283 18.610
May 31, 2155 23,675,573 14.048
Dec. 21, 2174 11,666,827 15.576
Dec. 11, 2179 16,539,791 20.060

Images and Observations

2005 WC1's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 21, 2005. It was last officially observed on Oct. 18, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 223 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 WC1:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.4 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4865
  • Inclination: 19.98°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 264.95°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 256.81°
  • Mean Anomaly: 224.58°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.252 km
  • Magnitude: 20.67

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 605 days (1.66 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 25.17 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.08 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.72 AU
  • Rotation Period: 2.58 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 469896 (2005 WC1) 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 WC1 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.