(33342) 1998 WT24

(33342) 1998 WT24
Tracks of asteroid 1998 WT24
Discovery[1]
Discovered byLINEAR
Discovery siteLincoln Lab's ETS
Discovery date25 November 1998
Designations
(33342) 1998 WT24
1998 WT24
Orbital characteristics[1]
Epoch 28 June 2009 (JD 2455010.5)
Uncertainty parameter 0
Observation arc18.98 yr (6,933 days)
Aphelion1.0187 AU
Perihelion0.4182 AU
0.7185 AU
Eccentricity0.4179
0.61 yr (222 days)
344.05°
1° 37m 6.24s / day
Inclination7.3419°
82.000°
167.30°
Earth MOID0.0097 AU (3.8 LD)
Physical characteristics
  • 0.35±0.04 km[3]
  • 0.410 km (taken)[4]
  • 0.415±0.040 km[5]

(33342) 1998 WT24 is a bright, sub-kilometer asteroid, classified as near-Earth object and potentially hazardous asteroid (PHA) of the Aten group, located in Venus's zone of influence that has frequent close encounters with Mercury, Venus, and Earth.[1] It made a close approach to Earth on 11 December 2015, passing at a distance of about 4.2 million kilometers (2.6 million miles, 11 lunar distances)[10] and reaching about apparent magnitude 11.[11]

The asteroid was discovered on 25 November 1998 by LINEAR about four months after a close encounter with the planet Mercury (about 0.047 AU).[1] It measures approximately 400 meters in diameter. It is also one of the best studied PHAs and was the 10th Aten asteroid to be numbered.

  1. ^ a b c d e f Cite error: The named reference jpldata was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference MPC-object was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Harris-2007 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference lcdb was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference Busch-2008 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Warner-2016e was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Krugly-2002b was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference geneva-obs was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Thomas-2011b was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference jpl-2015 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference NEODyS2015 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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