1996 PW is an exceptionally eccentric trans-Neptunian object and a damocloid on an orbit typical of long-period comets but one that showed no sign of cometary activity around the time it was discovered.

[8] The unusual object measures approximately 10 kilometers (6 miles) in diameter and has a rotation period of 35.4 hours and likely an elongated shape.

The discovery of 1996 PW prompted theoretical research that suggests that roughly 1 to 2 percent of the Oort cloud objects are rocky.

[2][10] 1996 PW was first observed on 9 August 1996 by the Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking (NEAT) automated search camera on Haleakala Observatory, Hawaii.

[7][8] Its spectrum is moderately red and featureless,[11] typical of D-type asteroids and bare comet nuclei.