Draft:2026 RW1
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|
 Orbit diagram of 2026 RW1 | |
| Discovery[1] | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Catalina Sky Survey |
| Discovery site | Catalina Sky Survey |
| Discovery date | 6 September 2026 |
| Designations | |
| CERNQ52[2] | |
| NEO · Aten | |
| Orbital characteristics[3] | |
| Epoch 6 September 2026 (JD 2461289.5) | |
| Uncertainty parameter 4 | |
| Observation arc | 1 day |
| Earliest precovery date | 5 September 2026[4] |
| Aphelion | 1.011 AU |
| Perihelion | 0.761 AU |
| 0.942 AU | |
| Eccentricity | 0.191 |
| 0.915 yr (334.227 d) | |
| 258.200° | |
| 1° 4m 37.2s / day | |
| Inclination | 1.514° |
| 343.770° | |
| 9 December 2026 | |
| 121.209° | |
| Known satellites | 0 |
| Earth MOID | 0.00000323804 AU (484.404 km) |
| Jupiter MOID | 3.96555 AU (593,238,000 km) |
| TJupiter | 6.356 |
| Physical characteristics | |
| 0.7 m[5] 0.8 m[6] 0.6–1.3 m[2] | |
| 33.32±0.34194[3] | |
2026 RW1 was a small 0.6 to 1.3 meters (2.0 to 4.3 ft) sized meteoroid that impacted earth on 6 September, 2026 at 16:07 UTC.[2] It impacted Earth at the Indian Ocean, between Western Australia and the Lesser Sunda Islands.[2]
It was also the 13th minor planet to have been successfully predicted to hit Earth.[5]
Discovery
[edit]2026 RW1 was discovered on 6 September 2026, by the Catalina Sky Survey thats near Tucson, Arizona, United States.[1][4] with precovery observations back to a day earlier on 5 September 2026, by Pan-STARRS 2.[4]
It was also the 13th minor planet to be discovered before it collided with Earth.[5]
When 2026 RW1 impacted the Earth, it was photographed by Richard Young, at a distance of about 780 kilometres (480 mi), at Broome, Western Australia.[7][5]
Impact
[edit]It impacted Earth on 6 September, 2026 at 16:07 UTC, about 6.5 hours after its discovery.[5] It collided with Earth at coordinates 13.77°S, 116.43°E, in the Indian Ocean between Western Australia, and the Lesser Sunda Islands.[5][2]
When it did collide with Earth, it left no crater and burned up in Earth’s atmosphere.[2]
Due to it impacting over oceanic waters, no meteorites can be recovered as of 2026.[5]
Orbit and classification
[edit]Orbit
[edit]![[icon]](/restyle/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding missing information. (October 2026) |
2026 RW1 orbited about 0.76 to 1.01 AU from the Sun.[3] A year on it was about 0.9 years,[3] and an eccentricity of 0.19.[3] It was inclined by about 1.5 degrees to the elliptic,[3] and when it collided with Earth, it was about 1.008 AU from the sun when it collided with Earth.[3]
Classification
[edit]2026 RW1 was a Near-Earth object, meaning its orbit was close to the Earth.[3] It was also a Aten asteroid, meaning that its semi-major axis was smaller than Earth’s.[3]
Physical characteristics
[edit]Diameter
[edit]2026 RW1 has no measured diameter as of 2026,[3] but there has been estimates. ESA estimates a diameter of 0.7 meters (2.3 ft),[5] while BBC Sky at Night Magazine estimates are 0.8 meters (2.6 ft).[6] And the minimum and maximum diameter is 0.6 to 1.3 meters (2.0 to 4.3 ft).[2]
Notes
[edit]- 1.^Due to 2026 RW1 being destroyed on the 6 of September, it cannot go back to perihelion. And the date for the 9 of December is when it will go back to perihelion if it did not get destroyed.
References
[edit]- 1 2 "MPEC 2026-R64 : 2026 RW1". IAU Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 30 September 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Blašković, Teo (7 September 2026). "Asteroid 2026 RW1 impacts Earth over Indian Ocean about 7 hours after discovery, becomes 13th known asteroid detected before impact". The Watchers. Retrieved 1 October 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Small-Body Database Lookup". JPL Solar System Dynamics. Retrieved 30 September 2026.
- 1 2 3 "IAU Minor Planet Center". IAU Minor Planet Center. 6 September 2026. Retrieved 1 October 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "2026RW1". NEO. 9 June 2026. Retrieved 30 September 2026.
- 1 2 Todd, Iain (8 September 2026). "Just hours before impact – this week a hi-tech telescope spotted an asteroid, then watched it hit Earth". BBC Sky at Night Magazine. Retrieved 30 September 2026.
- ↑ "Global Fireball Observatory: 2026 RW1 = CERNQ52 : impact confirmed!". Global Fireball Observatory. 9 June 2026. Retrieved 1 October 2026.
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Category:Minor planet object articles (unnumbered) Category:Aten asteroids Category:Earth impact events Category:Predicted impact events Category:Meteoroids