2002 EW

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2002 EW

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 20,969,181 km of Earth in 2019
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2002 EW is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2002 EW 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.

2002 EW orbits the sun every 714 days (1.95 years), coming as close as 0.33 AU and reaching as far as 2.79 AU from the sun. Its orbit is highly elliptical. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2002 EW is probably between 0.175 to 0.391 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2002 EW's orbit is 0.07 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.

2002 EW has 13 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
July 4, 2019 20,969,181 24.591
March 2, 2045 9,888,726 27.040
July 4, 2062 22,026,196 24.188
March 3, 2088 11,277,198 28.006
July 9, 2105 29,695,999 22.157
June 27, 2107 23,408,782 29.928
March 9, 2131 20,081,952 30.429
Feb. 25, 2133 24,839,094 22.276
June 28, 2150 20,826,357 29.152
March 9, 2174 19,118,843 30.227
Feb. 25, 2176 27,559,413 21.708
July 9, 2191 28,145,630 22.480
June 27, 2193 25,136,404 30.501

Images and Observations

2002 EW's orbit is determined by observations dating back to March 5, 2002. It was last officially observed on March 9, 2006. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 111 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 2002 EW:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.563 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.7879
  • Inclination: 6.71°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 15.77°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 24.28°
  • Mean Anomaly: 28.95°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.226 km
  • Magnitude: 20.91

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 714 days (1.95 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 23.82 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.79 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.33 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2002 EW 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 2002 EW 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.