506859 (2007 VW137)

Small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 506859 (2007 VW137)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge
  • Will pass within 5,367,553 km of Earth in 2068
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

506859 (2007 VW137) is a small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2007 VW137 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2007 VW137 orbits the sun every 1,220 days (3.34 years), coming as close as 0.59 AU and reaching as far as 3.88 AU from the sun. Its orbit is highly elliptical. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2007 VW137 is probably between 0.595 to 1.331 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.

Close Approaches

2007 VW137's orbit is 0.03 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.

2007 VW137 has 11 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
June 24, 2068 5,367,553 21.107
June 30, 2078 7,766,408 23.263
July 2, 2088 14,484,647 24.581
July 5, 2098 17,197,760 25.448
July 1, 2108 7,436,967 23.234
July 9, 2118 26,465,004 27.195
July 7, 2128 22,891,581 26.505
Dec. 22, 2134 28,492,138 27.498
Jan. 7, 2145 14,925,877 18.871
July 3, 2175 13,009,657 24.091
Jan. 2, 2182 2,087,462 21.745

Images and Observations

2007 VW137's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 8, 2007. It was last officially observed on Aug. 13, 2018. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 230 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 2007 VW137:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 2.236 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.7358
  • Inclination: 5.83°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 297.75°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 247.16°
  • Mean Anomaly: 233.86°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.768 km
  • Magnitude: 18.25

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 1,220 days (3.34 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 19.94 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 3.88 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.59 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 506859 (2007 VW137) 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 2007 VW137 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.