177049 (2003 EE16)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 177049 (2003 EE16)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building
  • Will pass within 21,832,664 km of Earth in 2040
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

177049 (2003 EE16) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2003 EE16 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2003 EE16 orbits the sun every 617 days (1.69 years), coming as close as 0.55 AU and reaching as far as 2.29 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2003 EE16 is probably between 0.287 to 0.643 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 90% of asteroids but tiny compared to large asteroids, very roughly comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building.

Close Approaches

2003 EE16's orbit is 0.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is very close to Earth's orbit.

2003 EE16 has 13 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Feb. 3, 2040 21,832,664 23.506
July 1, 2041 14,845,066 22.013
Jan. 31, 2067 13,081,500 21.727
June 28, 2068 23,873,139 23.789
Jan. 30, 2094 11,178,781 21.356
June 29, 2095 24,412,011 23.909
Feb. 5, 2121 25,043,680 24.159
July 4, 2122 11,121,297 21.271
Feb. 7, 2148 28,159,276 24.816
July 6, 2149 7,744,651 20.609
Feb. 2, 2175 12,008,999 21.518
June 30, 2176 25,907,183 24.205
July 18, 2181 25,719,949 14.038

Images and Observations

2003 EE16's orbit is determined by observations dating back to May 17, 2002. It was last officially observed on March 1, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 295 observations used to determine its orbit.

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 2003 EE16:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.418 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.6144
  • Inclination: 0.65°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 127.22°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 259.5°
  • Mean Anomaly: 131.61°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.371 km
  • Magnitude: 19.83

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 617 days (1.69 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 25.00 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.29 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.55 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 177049 (2003 EE16) 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.

Size Rendering

The below comparison is an artistic rendering that uses available data on the diameter of 2003 EE16 to create an approximate landscape rendering with New York City in the background. This approximation is built for full-resolution desktop browsers. Shape, color, and texture of asteroid are imagined.