2005 EA

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2005 EA

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 26,480,697 km of Earth in 2024
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2005 EA is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2005 EA as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2005 EA orbits the sun every 542 days (1.48 years), coming as close as 0.47 AU and reaching as far as 2.13 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2005 EA is probably between 0.172 to 0.386 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2005 EA's orbit is 0.03 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.

2005 EA has 12 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Oct. 24, 2024 26,480,697 21.567
March 21, 2054 25,378,245 17.486
March 14, 2057 6,363,801 22.812
Oct. 28, 2070 28,004,963 23.595
March 22, 2100 25,499,365 17.470
March 15, 2103 7,276,685 23.009
Oct. 27, 2116 27,207,011 22.582
March 19, 2146 12,249,720 20.055
March 11, 2149 19,732,950 25.778
Oct. 23, 2162 28,810,156 20.197
March 16, 2192 6,388,713 21.844
March 9, 2195 28,995,874 27.676

Images and Observations

2005 EA's orbit is determined by observations dating back to March 1, 2005. It was last officially observed on Nov. 17, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 86 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 2005 EA:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.301 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.6393
  • Inclination: 14.06°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 346.88°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 298.89°
  • Mean Anomaly: 121.09°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.223 km
  • Magnitude: 20.94

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 542 days (1.48 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 26.11 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.13 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.47 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2005 EA 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 2005 EA 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.