Skip to content
Public Universe
Asteroid Near-Earth

2024 WA2

Add to an observing list or journal →

(2024 WA2)

2024 WA2 is an asteroid in the Apollo orbit class. Its orbit takes it from 0.88 AU to 1.17 AU from the Sun; one orbit takes 377.9 days. Orbit from the JPL solution of 9 December 2024.

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
0.943 AU
True anomaly
63.24°
Distance from Earth
0.457 AU
As of
3 November 2026

Two-body Kepler propagation — accurate to ~0.1% for major planets over decades, less so for highly-perturbed bodies. Use JPL Horizons for high precision.

Sun Earth — 0.992 AU from the Sun Earth 2024 WA2 — 0.943 AU from the Sun 2024 WA2
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 2024 WA2 is 0.457 AU from Earth today (3.8 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
19h 29m 15s
Declination
-11° 13′ 16″
Constellation
Aquila
Distance from Earth
0.46 AU
Elongation from the Sun
70.69° — well clear of the Sun

Visible from both hemispheres.

From your location

See how high it is right now, whether it is up after civil twilight, and when it rises and sets where you are.

How do I find my coordinates?

Google Maps on a computer

  1. Right-click the spot where you'll be observing.
  2. The first line of the menu is the coordinates, e.g. 51.50722, -0.12758 — click it and they're copied.
  3. Paste them above.

Google Maps on a phone

  1. Press and hold the spot to drop a pin.
  2. The coordinates appear in the search bar (or on the pin's card) — tap to copy, then paste above.

A full Google Maps link works too, but the short maps.app.goo.gl share links don't carry coordinates — copy the numbers instead. We round to about a kilometre; that's all the sky calculation needs.

Know your what3words address? Paste it, e.g. ///filled.count.soap. This is optional — the three words are sent to what3words to convert them, and we don't store the address or the result.

Your location stays in your browser and is sent only for this calculation. Using a what3words address is optional; if you do, the three words go to what3words to be converted and we don't record them. Set a location first, then you can save an email alert for this object. See our privacy policy.

Two-body approximation, good to about a degree for the planets — enough to find the constellation and know whether it is up.

Orbital elements

Semi-major axis
1.023 AU
Eccentricity
0.1399
Inclination
7.35°
Orbital period
377.9 days
Perihelion
0.88 AU
Aphelion
1.166 AU
Longitude of ascending node
238.5°
Argument of periapsis
72.63°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · APO
Apollo
Earth MOID · 12.7 LD
0.0326 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
5.958

Orbit quality

Orbit poorly determined (uncertainty code 7).

Observations used
18
Data arc
4 days
First observed
22 November 2024
Last observed
26 November 2024
Residual RMS
0.36 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
9 December 2024

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
26.5

Discovery & classification

Apollo Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 7 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 2024 WA2 at 2054-11-08 05:45 UTC Sun 14.3 LD · 5.5 × 10⁶ km 2054-11-08 05:45 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2054-11-08 05:45 UTC close approach of 2024 WA2. Catalogue miss distance 14.3 LD · 5.5 × 10⁶ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2054-11-05 to 2054-11-11, with a mark at UTC midnights and an arrow for the direction of motion. The circle is the Moon’s mean orbit; the Moon is plotted at closest approach. A ray shows the Sun’s direction. The labelled distance is the full separation. The drawn radius is the part that lies in the ecliptic plane. At closest approach the object is north of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate.

JPL Horizons

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2054-11-08 05:45:00 Earth 0.0368 AU 14.3 LD 5.9 km/s

Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.

Sources