1994 WR₁₂

1994 WR₁₂ is an asteroid and near-Earth object approximately 130 meters (430 feet) in diameter.^[3][4] As a member of the Aten group almost all of its orbit is closer to the Sun than Earth is. On 24 November 1994 it passed about 374100 km from the Moon.^[3] First imaged at Kitami Observatory on 26 November 1994,^[1] it was discovered two nights later by American astronomer Carolyn S. Shoemaker at Palomar Observatory on 28 November 1994.^[2] The asteroid then went unobserved from 1994 until it was recovered by Mauna Kea in March 2016.^[1] It was removed from the Sentry Risk Table on 2 April 2016.^[5]

Description

1994 WR₁₂ orbits the Sun at a distance of 0.5–1.1 AU once every 8 months (240 days). Its orbit has an eccentricity of 0.40 and an inclination of 7° with respect to the ecliptic.^[3]

It has an Earth minimum orbital intersection distance of 0.0018 AU (269,000 km), which translates into 0.7 lunar distances.^[3] On 25 November 2046, it will pass 1633719 km from Earth with an uncertainty of ±4133 km.^[3] While listed on the Sentry Risk Table the range for the 2046 close approach distance varied from 0.001 AU (150,000 km) to 0.039 AU (5,800,000 km) from Earth.^[8]

While listed on the Sentry Risk Table,^[9] virtual clones of the asteroid that fit the uncertainty in the known trajectory showed 116 potential impacts between 2054 and 2109.^[4] It had about a cumulative 1 in 9090 chance of impacting the Earth.^[4] The formerly poorly known trajectory of this asteroid was further complicated by close approaches to Venus and Mercury.^[3] It was recovered by Mauna Kea in March 2016,^[1] which extended the observation arc from 34 days to 21 years.

It is estimated that an impact would produce the equivalent of 77 megatons of TNT,^[4] roughly 1.5 times that of most powerful nuclear weapon ever detonated (Tsar Bomba).

It has too a unique caracteristic: it's complanar with Mercury, it can to be a fragment thrown away by an asteroid impact on Mercury, it's very little MOID with the Earth can produce a meteor shower on Earth and if the meteoroids were large enough even Mercurian meteorites.

See also

• Lost asteroids

References

External links

• List Of Aten Minor Planets (by designation), Minor Planet Center
• 1994 WR12 at NeoDyS-2, Near Earth Objects—Dynamic Site
  • Ephemerides · Observation prediction · Orbital info · MOID · Proper elements · Observational info · Close approaches · Physical info · Orbit animation
• 1994 WR12 at ESA–space situational awareness
  • Ephemerides · Observations · Orbit · Physical properties · Summary
• 1994 WR12 at the JPL Small-Body Database
  • Close approach · Discovery · Ephemeris · Orbit diagram · Orbital elements · Physical parameters

This page was last edited on 2 February 2024, at 16:25