11479 (1986 EP5)

Key Facts

• Categorized as a Main-belt Asteroid
• Comparable in size to the city of Philadelphia (16.91 km diameter)
• Not a Near Earth Object
• Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
• See orbit simulation

Overview

11479 (1986 EP5) is a large asteroid orbiting between Mars and Jupiter in the main portion of the asteroid belt. NASA JPL has not classified 1986 EP5 as potentially hazardous because its orbit does not bring it close to Earth.

1986 EP5 orbits the sun every 2,060 days (5.64 years), coming as close as 2.62 AU and reaching as far as 3.72 AU from the sun. 1986 EP5 is about 16.9 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 99% of asteroids, comparable in size to the city of Philadelphia.

The rotation of 1986 EP5 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 6.91 hours.

No Close Approaches

1986 EP5's orbit is 1.61 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is an extremely wide berth between this asteroid and Earth at all times.

Orbital simulations conducted by NASA JPL's CNEOS do not show any close approaches to Earth.

Images and Observations

1986 EP5's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 27, 1982. It was last officially observed on Feb. 19, 2023. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 3,158 observations used to determine its orbit.

Scientists have been able to determine this object's shape:

View asteroid 11479 (1986 EP5) in 3D.

Accessibility and Exploration

This asteroid is not considered a viable target for human exploration by the NHATS study.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 1986 EP5:

• 106 Dione (A868 TA)
• 176 Iduna (A877 TB)
• 227 Philosophia (A882 PA)

References

• JPL Small Body Database
• Mission Design
• Sky Finder Chart

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 11479 (1986 EP5) is indicated by a ◯ pink circle. Note that the object may not be in your current field of view. Use the controls below to adjust position, location, and time.