138859 (2000 WN63)

Small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 138859 (2000 WN63)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the Golden Gate Bridge
  • Will pass within 22,900,473 km of Earth in 2080
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

138859 (2000 WN63) is a small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2000 WN63 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.

2000 WN63 orbits the sun every 721 days (1.97 years), coming as close as 0.74 AU and reaching as far as 2.41 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2000 WN63 is probably between 0.425 to 0.951 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

2000 WN63's orbit is 0.14 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.

2000 WN63 has 4 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
June 25, 2080 22,900,473 16.943
June 9, 2082 24,411,920 14.123
June 30, 2157 25,742,098 17.822
June 16, 2159 22,311,132 14.700

Images and Observations

2000 WN63's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 27, 2000. It was last officially observed on Oct. 28, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 294 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 2000 WN63:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.573 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.532
  • Inclination: 13.16°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 55.87°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 144.41°
  • Mean Anomaly: 105.73°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.549 km
  • Magnitude: 18.98

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 721 days (1.97 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 23.73 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.41 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.74 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 138859 (2000 WN63) 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 2000 WN63 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.