When does 2001 WN5 pass Earth?
2001 WN5: closest approach June 2028
2001 WN5 passes Earth on June 26, 2028 at 05:22 UTC, 248,711 km from Earth's centre (0.65 lunar distances). That is inside the Moon's distance.
Distance through the flyby
lunar distances, ±12 h (JPL Horizons)Can you see it?
JPL Horizons gives a brightest apparent magnitude of 6.8 as seen from Earth's centre, at 00:53 UTC on Jun 26, 2028: a binocular object. At closest approach it is overhead at about 57°S, 37°E, where the Sun is up or in twilight. Seen from the ground, its position and brightness differ from the geocentric values, the more so the closer it comes.
Impact risk
2001 WN5 was on JPL's Sentry impact-monitoring list until 2010-04-20, when further observations ruled out any impact in the period Sentry covers (about 100 years).
Physical data
| Absolute magnitude H | 18.28 |
| Diameter | 932 m |
| Geometric albedo | 0.097 |
| Rotation period | 4.253 h |
| Orbit class | Apollo |
| Potentially hazardous asteroid (PHA) | yes |
JPL Small-Body Database: 153814 (2001 WN5).
Every close approach, 1900–2200
All passes within 0.2 au (78 lunar distances) computed by JPL. None comes closer than the 2028 pass. The uncertainty column is JPL's 3-sigma timing uncertainty; it grows for dates far from today.
| Date | Lunar dist. | Distance | km/s | Time ± |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2, 1916 | 19.8 | 7.63 million km | 11.1 | < 00:01 |
| Aug 3, 1925 | 38.9 | 14.97 million km | 8.4 | < 00:01 |
| Jun 16, 1934 | 30.9 | 11.89 million km | 12.4 | < 00:01 |
| Sep 30, 1963 | 13.7 | 5.27 million km | 10.3 | < 00:01 |
| Jul 28, 1972 | 37.0 | 14.21 million km | 8.4 | < 00:01 |
| Jun 16, 1981 | 32.5 | 12.48 million km | 12.6 | < 00:01 |
| Oct 10, 2010 | 41.8 | 16.05 million km | 13.1 | < 00:01 |
| Aug 27, 2019 | 38.0 | 14.60 million km | 8.3 | < 00:01 |
| Jun 26, 2028 | 0.65 | 248,711 km | 10.2 | < 00:01 |
| Aug 2, 2052 | 39.6 | 15.21 million km | 8.3 | 06:58 |
| Sep 20, 2076 | 24.8 | 9.55 million km | 8.7 | 09:36 |
| Jun 12, 2087 | 63.4 | 24.37 million km | 14.9 | 02:59 |
| Oct 3, 2100 | 16.4 | 6.31 million km | 10.2 | 03:54 |
| Jun 20, 2111 | 29.1 | 11.18 million km | 12.3 | 07:42 |
| Oct 9, 2124 | 26.1 | 10.02 million km | 11.6 | 03:26 |
| Jun 24, 2135 | 15.4 | 5.90 million km | 11.3 | 03:13 |
| Oct 3, 2148 | 16.2 | 6.21 million km | 10.0 | 03:48 |
| Aug 28, 2172 | 40.6 | 15.61 million km | 8.3 | 3 d 00:26 |
| Jul 8, 2196 | 19.2 | 7.37 million km | 8.8 | 2 d 11:15 |
Questions
Will 2001 WN5 hit Earth?
2001 WN5 was on JPL's Sentry impact-monitoring list until 2010-04-20, when further observations ruled out any impact in the period Sentry covers (about 100 years).
How close will 2001 WN5 come?
248,711 km from Earth's centre, 242,340 km above the surface, on Jun 26, 2028 at 05:22 UTC (NASA JPL). That is inside the Moon's distance.
How big is 2001 WN5?
930 m (measured). Its rotation period is 4.253 hours.
Can I see 2001 WN5?
At its brightest about magnitude 6.8 (JPL Horizons, geocentric): a binocular object.
Sources: NASA/JPL CNEOS close-approach data, Sentry, Small-Body Database and Horizons (geocentric ephemeris). Data fetched 30 Oct 2026, 00:23 UTC; refreshed weekly. Times converted from TDB to UTC.