613676 (2006 WE4)

Small Interior-Earth Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Interior-Earth Asteroids » 613676 (2006 WE4)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Interior-Earth Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge
  • Will pass within 16,186,318 km of Earth in 2034
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

613676 (2006 WE4) is a small asteroid with an orbit that is entirely confined within Earth's orbit. NASA JPL has classified 2006 WE4 as a "Near Earth Asteroid" due to its orbit's proximity to Earth, but it is not considered potentially hazardous because computer simulations have not indicated any imminent likelihood of future collision.

2006 WE4 orbits the sun every 254 days (0.70 years), coming as close as 0.64 AU and reaching as far as 0.93 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2006 WE4 is probably between 0.458 to 1.023 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

2006 WE4's orbit is 0.10 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.

2006 WE4 has 13 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Jan. 25, 2034 16,186,318 13.758
Jan. 21, 2050 23,174,067 14.857
Feb. 1, 2059 20,985,227 12.827
Jan. 29, 2075 15,514,294 13.165
Jan. 25, 2091 16,538,473 13.836
Jan. 22, 2107 24,048,852 14.981
Feb. 3, 2116 20,347,657 12.845
Jan. 30, 2132 15,330,173 13.208
Jan. 26, 2148 16,917,014 13.906
Feb. 6, 2157 28,947,001 12.876
Jan. 22, 2164 24,724,082 15.076
Feb. 2, 2173 19,614,150 12.867
Jan. 29, 2189 15,200,272 13.261

Images and Observations

2006 WE4's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 21, 2006. It was last officially observed on April 5, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 65 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 2006 WE4:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.7848 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.1829
  • Inclination: 24.77°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 311.0°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 318.6°
  • Mean Anomaly: 261.77°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.591 km
  • Magnitude: 18.82

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 254 days (0.70 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 33.61 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 0.93 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.64 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 613676 (2006 WE4) 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 2006 WE4 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.