2011 EO51

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2011 EO51

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 19,757,826 km of Earth in 2030
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2011 EO51 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2011 EO51 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2011 EO51 orbits the sun every 715 days (1.96 years), coming as close as 0.33 AU and reaching as far as 2.80 AU from the sun. Its orbit is highly elliptical. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2011 EO51 is probably between 0.160 to 0.358 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2011 EO51'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.

2011 EO51 has 13 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
June 30, 2030 19,757,826 28.704
March 10, 2056 21,785,948 31.090
Feb. 27, 2058 17,625,753 23.383
July 9, 2075 24,277,638 23.384
June 27, 2077 25,628,363 30.593
March 9, 2103 13,167,358 29.338
Feb. 26, 2105 25,640,117 21.808
July 10, 2122 23,402,170 23.557
June 28, 2124 25,921,475 30.712
March 13, 2150 26,898,478 32.168
March 2, 2152 10,741,261 24.698
July 5, 2171 16,880,124 27.471
March 8, 2199 8,327,477 28.331

Images and Observations

2011 EO51's orbit is determined by observations dating back to March 12, 2011. It was last officially observed on March 29, 2017. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 51 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 2011 EO51:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.565 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.7861
  • Inclination: 6.75°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 175.1°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 227.41°
  • Mean Anomaly: 168.28°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.207 km
  • Magnitude: 21.1

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 715 days (1.96 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 23.81 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.80 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.33 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2011 EO51 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 2011 EO51 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.