2009 EP2

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 2009 EP2

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 8,979,511 km of Earth in 2034
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2009 EP2 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2009 EP2 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2009 EP2 orbits the sun every 326 days (0.89 years), coming as close as 0.60 AU and reaching as far as 1.26 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2009 EP2 is probably between 0.127 to 0.284 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

Close Approaches

2009 EP2's orbit is 0.04 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.

2009 EP2 has 12 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
March 18, 2034 8,979,511 17.933
March 19, 2042 20,258,164 15.173
March 17, 2059 19,361,831 19.640
March 19, 2067 9,856,187 16.220
March 18, 2092 7,258,202 17.532
March 19, 2100 20,982,731 15.104
March 17, 2117 22,446,940 20.133
March 20, 2125 7,612,857 16.591
March 20, 2150 7,458,198 17.569
March 20, 2158 22,764,553 14.983
March 18, 2175 18,537,563 19.503
March 21, 2183 9,512,482 16.283

Images and Observations

2009 EP2's orbit is determined by observations dating back to March 5, 2009. It was last officially observed on March 11, 2017. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 187 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 2009 EP2:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.9269 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3562
  • Inclination: 27.7°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 175.17°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 129.84°
  • Mean Anomaly: 353.74°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.164 km
  • Magnitude: 21.6

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 326 days (0.89 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 30.93 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.26 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.60 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2009 EP2 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 2009 EP2 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.