620071 (2011 WN15)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 620071 (2011 WN15)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building
  • Will pass within 8,639,707 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

620071 (2011 WN15) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2011 WN15 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2011 WN15 orbits the sun every 490 days (1.34 years), coming as close as 0.17 AU and reaching as far as 2.26 AU from the sun. Its orbit is highly elliptical. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2011 WN15 is probably between 0.314 to 0.702 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 2011 WN15 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 2.97 hours.

Close Approaches

2011 WN15'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 WN15 has 8 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Dec. 10, 2019 8,639,707 35.387
Dec. 2, 2062 29,239,538 28.515
Dec. 6, 2066 7,184,271 32.359
Dec. 12, 2070 14,014,501 36.484
Dec. 6, 2117 10,837,386 31.715
Dec. 12, 2121 10,163,843 35.712
Dec. 7, 2168 9,995,479 31.944
Dec. 12, 2172 12,101,122 36.090

Images and Observations

2011 WN15's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 22, 2011. It was last officially observed on Jan. 20, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 288 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 WN15:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.217 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.8579
  • Inclination: 33.43°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 75.55°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 218.57°
  • Mean Anomaly: 315.74°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.405 km
  • Magnitude: 19.64

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 490 days (1.34 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 27.02 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.26 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.17 AU
  • Rotation Period: 2.97 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 620071 (2011 WN15) 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 WN15 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.