2011 WL2

2011 WL2
Discovery[1]
Discovered by Lincoln Laboratory ETS (now LINEAR)
Discovery site Socorro, New Mexico, USA
Discovery date November 16, 2011
Designations
MPC designation 2011 WL2
MPO 246965
Apollo
NEO, PHA
Orbital characteristics[2]
Epoch Dec 9, 2014 (JD 2457000.5)
Uncertainty parameter 2
Observation arc 386 d
1.06 yr
Aphelion 1.3833366 AU
Perihelion 0.772297 AU
1.0778166 AU
Eccentricity 0.283462
408.7104 d
1.12 yr
28.10406 km/s
344.6305°
Inclination 14.12879°
212.9590°
88.8034°
Earth MOID 0.002152 AU
Physical characteristics
Dimensions 190–420 m[3]
20.8[2]

    2011 WL2 is a small asteroid that is a Near-Earth object, a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid, and an Apollo asteroid.

    Orbit

    The orbit of 2011 WL2 makes it a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA) whose orbit has been determined with about 1 year of observations. The orbit of 2011 WL2 is somewhat uncertain, but could pass a distance of 0.001635 AU (244,600 km) from the Earth in the year 2087.[2] Only the nominal (best-fit) orbit shows a passage this close. The uncertainty region is still somewhat large due to a short observation arc. For comparison, the distance to the Moon is about 0.0026 AU (384,400 km). 2011 WL2 appears on the list of PHA close approaches issued by the Minor Planet Center (MPC), with the next close approach in the year 2038.[4]

    The Jupiter Tisserand invariant, used to distinguish different kinds of orbits, is 5.7.[2]

    References

    1. ↑ "2011 WL2". Minor Planet Center. 2012-12-06.
    2. 1 2 3 4 "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 2011 WL2)" (last observation: 2012-12-06; arc: 386 days). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 2015-05-29.
    3. ↑ "ABSOLUTE MAGNITUDE (H)". NASA.
    4. ↑ "PHA Close Approaches To The Earth". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 2015-05-29.
    Preceded by
    2005 WY55    		 Large NEO Earth close approach
    (inside the orbit of the Moon)
    26 October 2087     		Succeeded by
    2007 YV56


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