549948 (2011 WL2)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 549948 (2011 WL2)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 22,523,240 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

549948 (2011 WL2) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2011 WL2 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2011 WL2 orbits the sun every 409 days (1.12 years), coming as close as 0.77 AU and reaching as far as 1.38 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2011 WL2 is probably between 0.181 to 0.404 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2011 WL2's orbit is 0.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

2011 WL2 has 21 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
April 14, 2019 22,523,240 15.274
Oct. 29, 2030 12,828,037 13.685
April 21, 2038 1,805,462 11.610
Oct. 18, 2039 29,274,320 7.960
April 25, 2057 12,338,924 9.808
Oct. 21, 2058 15,822,774 9.354
May 2, 2076 27,390,124 8.150
Oct. 25, 2077 850,784 11.500
May 2, 2086 26,199,904 8.321
Oct. 23, 2087 12,458,198 9.780
April 24, 2096 12,633,532 9.806
Oct. 19, 2097 26,485,417 8.205
April 21, 2106 2,695,505 11.615
April 14, 2116 20,830,435 14.964
Oct. 30, 2128 13,890,604 13.854
Oct. 25, 2138 8,748,300 10.283
April 23, 2147 5,051,473 10.922
April 17, 2157 12,548,166 13.522
Nov. 4, 2169 29,857,645 16.668
Oct. 31, 2179 12,275,318 13.581
Oct. 27, 2189 856,118 11.745

Images and Observations

2011 WL2's orbit is determined by observations dating back to April 14, 2010. It was last officially observed on Jan. 17, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 284 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 WL2:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.078 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.2833
  • Inclination: 14.13°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 212.91°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 88.85°
  • Mean Anomaly: 283.4°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.233 km
  • Magnitude: 20.84

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 409 days (1.12 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 28.67 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.38 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.77 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 549948 (2011 WL2) 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 WL2 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.