Frequent Inner-planet Encounters
(33342) 1998 WT24 is a Mercury-crosser asteroid, a Venus-crosser asteroid, and an Earth-crosser asteroid. Because of its relatively low inclination (7.34°), it is able to come close to each of these planets. Its orbit takes it within 0.021 au of Mercury's orbit, 0.0368 au of Venus' orbit, and 0.00989 au of Earth's orbit. It makes frequent encounters with these inner planets. The last time it came close to Mercury, Venus and Earth was 1998, 1977, and November 12, 2004 respectively. The next such encounter will be in 2035. These encounters perturb its orbit parameters slightly, and each pass reduces its inclination further. Astronomers have to monitor it closely due to its frequently changing path.
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