Close Approach Record

Asteroid (2009 WD54)

Closest pass on 2026-Nov-18 12:16 TDB (Julian Date: 2461363.011174848)

Key Facts

  • On 2026-Nov-18 12:16, asteroid (2009 WD54) passed Earth at a nominal distance of 9,420,000 km (24.5 lunar distances).
  • At closest approach, the object was traveling at 9.37 km/s relative to Earth.
  • The object has an estimated size of 7.09 m, which is 0.591 times the size of a school bus.
  • The miss distance was about 24 times the distance to the Moon.
  • Hazard classification: Under 10 meters. Typically burns up harmlessly high in the upper atmosphere, producing a bright meteor fireball with negligible ground risk and occasional small meteorite fragments.

Visual Scale Comparison

giraffe 5.5 m Asteroid 2009 WD54 0.591 times the size of a school bus ~7 m school bus 12 m
Scale ladder data
Target7 m
Smallergiraffe: 5.5 m
Largerschool bus: 12 m

Object size compared to known reference benchmarks.

Miss Distance Orbital Dial

Moon Orbit (1 LD = 384,400 km) 24.5 LD Earth

Concentric orbital rings showing Earth, Moon orbit, and asteroid trajectory.

Astrometric & Orbital Parameters

Designation2009 WD54
Full Object Name(2009 WD54)
Nominal Miss Distance9,420,000 km (24.5 lunar distances / 0.0629359547002951 au)
3-Sigma Minimum Distance9,194,683.662 km (23.920 LD)
Relative Velocity (v_rel)9.37335101461525 km/s (about 10 rifle bullets)
Velocity at Infinity (v_inf)9.3688332528611 km/s
Time Uncertainty (3-sigma)06:45
Absolute Magnitude (H)28.5 mag
Orbit Solution ID8 (NASA JPL Small-Body Database)
Inside Moon OrbitNo
Inside Geostationary RingNo

Cite this page

Permanent URL: https://whatnearlyhitus.com/approaches/2026-Nov-18/2009-wd54/ | Machine-readable twin: index.json

APA:
What Nearly Hit Us Project. (2026). Asteroid (2009 WD54) Close Approach on 2026-Nov-18 12:16. What Nearly Hit Us. Retrieved from https://whatnearlyhitus.com/approaches/2026-Nov-18/2009-wd54/
MLA:
"Asteroid (2009 WD54) Close Approach on 2026-Nov-18 12:16." What Nearly Hit Us, What Nearly Hit Us Project, 2026-09-24, https://whatnearlyhitus.com/approaches/2026-Nov-18/2009-wd54/.
BibTeX:
@misc{approach_2009WD54_202618,
  title = {Asteroid (2009 WD54) Close Approach on 2026-Nov-18 12:16},
  author = {{What Nearly Hit Us Project}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://whatnearlyhitus.com/approaches/2026-Nov-18/2009-wd54/},
  note = {Primary upstream source: NASA/JPL CNEOS CAD API}
}