Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building
  • Will pass within 21,569,516 km of Earth in 2020
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2008 EE5 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2008 EE5 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2008 EE5 orbits the sun every 335 days (0.92 years), coming as close as 0.88 AU and reaching as far as 1.01 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2008 EE5 is probably between 0.304 to 0.679 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

2008 EE5's orbit is 0.02 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.

2008 EE5 has 25 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Feb. 14, 2020 21,569,516 22.983
Aug. 11, 2020 21,020,802 23.980
Aug. 18, 2031 22,199,988 23.968
Feb. 8, 2043 13,591,973 22.581
Feb. 10, 2054 3,655,838 22.499
Feb. 13, 2065 20,977,550 22.966
Aug. 11, 2065 21,105,485 23.976
Aug. 18, 2076 22,840,729 23.978
Feb. 5, 2077 29,761,663 23.136
Feb. 9, 2088 10,955,326 22.527
Feb. 12, 2099 8,481,433 22.568
Aug. 7, 2099 28,384,678 24.326
Feb. 16, 2110 29,292,755 23.382
Aug. 16, 2110 19,749,518 23.909
Aug. 23, 2121 29,269,257 24.229
Feb. 8, 2122 19,978,626 22.753
Feb. 11, 2133 3,121,674 22.486
Feb. 15, 2144 18,445,367 22.861
Aug. 11, 2144 22,272,224 24.029
Aug. 19, 2155 21,698,687 23.949
Feb. 10, 2167 11,431,772 22.539
Feb. 13, 2178 8,672,620 22.579
Aug. 8, 2178 28,271,507 24.320
Feb. 16, 2189 28,791,709 23.357
Aug. 15, 2189 19,702,123 23.906

Images and Observations

2008 EE5's orbit is determined by observations dating back to March 4, 2008. It was last officially observed on Jan. 6, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 200 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 2008 EE5:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.9447 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.0716
  • Inclination: 44.81°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 321.27°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 20.04°
  • Mean Anomaly: 113.42°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.392 km
  • Magnitude: 19.71

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 335 days (0.92 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 30.68 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.01 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.88 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2008 EE5 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 2008 EE5 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.