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
Alternative names	MPO 246965
Minor planet category	Apollo NEO, PHA
Orbital characteristics[2]
Epoch 13 January 2016 (JD 2457400.5)
Uncertainty parameter 2
Observation arc	386 days (1.06 yr)
Aphelion	1.3833510 AU (206.94636 Gm)
Perihelion	0.7723798 AU (115.54637 Gm)
Semi-major axis	1.0778654 AU (161.24637 Gm)
Eccentricity	0.283417
Orbital period	1.12 yr (408.74 d)
Average orbital speed	28.10406 km/s
Mean anomaly	336.9187°
Mean motion	0° 52^m 50.734^s /day
Inclination	14.12974°
Longitude of ascending node	212.9462°
Argument of perihelion	88.83006°
Earth MOID	0.00141998 AU (212,426 km)
Jupiter MOID	3.83997 AU (574.451 Gm)
Physical characteristics
Dimensions	190–420 m[3]
Absolute magnitude (H)	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. "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 2011 WL2)" (last observation: 2012-12-06; arc: 386 days). Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
3. "ABSOLUTE MAGNITUDE (H)". NASA.
4. "PHA Close Approaches To The Earth". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 2015-05-29.

External links

• 2011 WL2 at the JPL Small-Body Database
  
  • Discovery · Orbit diagram · Orbital elements · Physical parameters