33342 (1998 WT24)

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 33342 (1998 WT24)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building (0.43 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 15,143,494 km of Earth in 2026
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

33342 (1998 WT24) is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 1998 WT24 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

1998 WT24 orbits the sun every 223 days (0.61 years), coming as close as 0.42 AU and reaching as far as 1.02 AU from the sun. 1998 WT24 is about 0.4 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 90% of asteroids but tiny compared to large asteroids, comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building.

The rotation of 1998 WT24 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 3.70 hours.

Close Approaches

1998 WT24's orbit is 0.01 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

1998 WT24 has 31 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Dec. 24, 2026 15,143,494 12.183
Nov. 26, 2029 7,415,044 8.499
Dec. 20, 2040 4,093,408 9.705
Nov. 16, 2043 9,814,168 9.500
Dec. 19, 2054 2,148,563 9.254
Nov. 15, 2057 10,497,281 9.796
Dec. 22, 2068 6,379,481 10.204
Nov. 22, 2071 7,803,707 8.822
Nov. 12, 2074 29,428,634 14.953
Dec. 24, 2082 18,567,646 12.959
Dec. 6, 2085 5,233,266 8.400
Nov. 11, 2088 17,999,072 12.017
Dec. 23, 2096 29,911,134 15.593
Dec. 18, 2099 1,890,944 9.008
Nov. 15, 2102 10,700,135 9.977
Dec. 23, 2113 6,509,023 10.191
Nov. 21, 2116 7,611,661 8.824
Nov. 13, 2119 29,821,556 15.104
Dec. 26, 2127 20,131,378 13.328
Dec. 8, 2130 5,048,357 8.412
Nov. 12, 2133 17,557,591 11.943
Dec. 18, 2144 2,140,570 9.078
Nov. 17, 2147 9,671,655 9.713
Dec. 25, 2158 11,615,896 11.326
Nov. 28, 2161 6,604,535 8.484
Nov. 12, 2164 24,761,023 13.869
Dec. 25, 2172 23,650,413 14.119
Dec. 14, 2175 3,492,648 8.583
Nov. 14, 2178 14,005,831 11.041
Dec. 19, 2189 2,568,231 9.173
Nov. 17, 2192 8,929,536 9.524

Images and Observations

1998 WT24's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Nov. 24, 1998. It was last officially observed on Feb. 20, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 1,842 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 1998 WT24:

References

Search

   or view a random object

Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.7188 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4176
  • Inclination: 7.37°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 81.66°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 167.52°
  • Mean Anomaly: 100.47°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 0.43200 km
  • Magnitude: 18.02
  • Albedo: 0.654

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 223 days (0.61 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 35.07 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.02 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.42 AU
  • Rotation Period: 3.70 hours

Map Comparison

Click to load map

Orbit Simulation

⧉

Sky Map

The position of 33342 (1998 WT24) 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 1998 WT24 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.