SpaceAtlas Space Object Data
NASA JPL SBDB · 2008 WL

2008 WL

2008 WL belongs to the Apollo group of near-Earth asteroids, whose orbits cross the path of Earth; with a semi-major axis of 2.731 AU it takes 4.51 yr to circle the Sun.

Apollo Observations: 98
Orbital Period · P
4.51 yr
v(q)
38.7 km/s
v(Q)
8.4 km/s
Diameter · ≈
0.16 km
TJ
3.01
Eccentricity · e
0.644

Orbit and dynamics

The path is an ellipse reaching 0.972 AU from the Sun at perihelion and 4.49 AU at aphelion, a radial span of 3.518 AU.

Applying Kepler's third law to a = 2.731 AU gives an orbital period of 4.51 yr, or about 1,648 days.

The high eccentricity (0.644) produces a strongly elongated orbit, so the object spends most of its time far from the Sun.

The orbital plane is tilted 6.71° relative to the ecliptic.

By the vis-viva equation its orbital speed rises to 38.7 km/s at perihelion and falls to 8.4 km/s at aphelion.

Because q < 1 AU and Q > 1 AU, this orbit geometrically intersects the region of Earth's orbit.

Size and surface

No direct size measurement is available; from an absolute magnitude of H = 21.7 and an assumed geometric albedo of 0.14, the diameter works out to roughly 0.16 km.

Observation record and orbit quality

The current orbit solution is based on 98 observations and has a weighted RMS residual of 0.4169 arcseconds.

Condition code U = 0 means the orbit is very well determined, leaving only a small uncertainty in the future ephemeris.

About these computed values

Orbital periods, perihelion and aphelion speeds, and diameter estimates on this page are computed by SpaceAtlas from the JPL SBDB orbital elements. They are derived quantities, not values copied from the source catalogue.

Orbital Parameters

Semi-Major Axis
2.731 AU
Eccentricity
0.644
Perihelion
0.972 AU
Aphelion
4.489764 AU
Inclination
6.71°
Orbital Period
— yr
Epoch
2461200.5
Mean Anomaly
327.16°

Orbit diagram

The Sun sits at the focus (orange). Earth's orbit is the grey circle at 1 AU. The red dot marks the object's position at the catalog epoch.

3D orbit (interactive)

Drag to rotate; scroll or pinch to zoom. The Sun is at the focus (orange), Earth's orbit is the grey ring at 1 AU, and the red dot marks the object's current position.

Close approaches

Predicted close approaches to Earth, from NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS).

Date (UTC)Miss distanceVelocity
2026-Dec-05 14:17 0.190353 AU
28476463 km
15.75 km/s
2035-Dec-04 21:56 0.115805 AU
17324157 km
14.55 km/s
2044-Oct-19 16:40 0.115999 AU
17353134 km
9.33 km/s
2053-Sep-21 15:25 0.121238 AU
18136967 km
10.37 km/s
2062-Aug-26 03:31 0.240820 AU
36026199 km
17.14 km/s
2071-Aug-19 03:22 0.334817 AU
50087873 km
20.46 km/s

Distances in astronomical units (AU) and kilometres. Source: NASA/JPL CNEOS Close Approach Data API.

Physical Parameters

Diameter
— km
Albedo
—
Density
— g/cm³
Rotation Period
— h
Absolute Magnitude
21.7

Orbit Quality

RMS
0.41694
Condition
0
Orbit ID
—
Data source: NASA JPL Small-Body Database · NASA CNEOS. Orbital periods, perihelion and aphelion speeds, and diameter estimates on this page are computed by SpaceAtlas from the JPL SBDB orbital elements. They are derived quantities, not values copied from the source catalogue.

Keep exploring

Explore asteroids, comets and near-Earth objects with JPL orbital data.