2001 EC16

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

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Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2001 EC16

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 28,900,530 km of Earth in 2026
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2001 EC16 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2001 EC16 as a "Near Earth Asteroid" due to its orbit's proximity to Earth, but it is not considered potentially hazardous because computer simulations have not indicated any imminent likelihood of future collision.

2001 EC16 orbits the sun every 570 days (1.56 years), coming as close as 0.86 AU and reaching as far as 1.84 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2001 EC16 is probably between 0.060 to 0.270 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

The rotation of 2001 EC16 has been observed. It completes a rotation on its axis every 200.00 hours.

Close Approaches

2001 EC16's orbit is 0.01 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that there is a wide berth between this asteroid and Earth at all times.

2001 EC16 has 20 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
March 11, 2026 28,900,530 15.668
Aug. 3, 2029 9,246,597 9.203
April 1, 2040 10,017,494 8.215
June 23, 2054 24,124,043 7.748
March 19, 2065 10,123,450 11.943
Aug. 12, 2068 15,384,043 12.434
May 4, 2079 22,744,758 7.810
July 20, 2093 17,475,012 7.264
March 24, 2104 2,634,966 10.370
Aug. 14, 2107 14,710,745 12.308
March 26, 2118 2,003,578 9.957
Aug. 16, 2121 19,566,393 13.413
April 7, 2132 13,106,198 7.757
May 19, 2146 25,196,335 8.173
July 6, 2160 21,944,440 7.378
March 17, 2171 20,601,548 14.011
Aug. 8, 2174 7,973,500 9.831
March 26, 2185 2,221,495 10.112
Aug. 16, 2188 17,286,181 12.929
April 2, 2199 8,467,410 8.466

Images and Observations

2001 EC16's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Jan. 28, 2001. It was last officially observed on Sept. 18, 2015. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 214 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2001 EC16 can be reached with a journey of 354 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 11.364 km/s. To put this into perspective, the delta-v to launch a rocket to Low-Earth Orbit is 9.7 km/s. There are 88 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2001 EC16.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2001 EC16:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.346 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.364
  • Inclination: 4.71°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 175.5°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 70.53°
  • Mean Anomaly: 113.66°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.165 km
  • Magnitude: 22.3

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 570 days (1.56 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 25.69 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.84 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.86 AU
  • Rotation Period: 200.00 hours

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2001 EC16 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 2001 EC16 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.