Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 16,579,135 km of Earth in 2020
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2016 EG28 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2016 EG28 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.

2016 EG28 orbits the sun every 889 days (2.43 years), coming as close as 0.78 AU and reaching as far as 2.84 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2016 EG28 is probably between 0.007 to 0.016 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2016 EG28's orbit is 0.00 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

2016 EG28 has 2 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Oct. 16, 2020 16,579,135 16.022
Oct. 12, 2076 26,666,179 18.744

NASA Sentry has assessed impact risk for 6 very close approach scenarios. Here are the top scenarios ordered by probability of impact:

Date Probability of Impact (%) Impact Energy (Mt)
March 4, 2099 0.00010 0.04299
March 4, 2108 0.00004 0.04296
March 4, 2086 0.00003 0.04268
March 5, 2122 0.00001 0.04275
March 4, 2099 0.00000 0.04313
March 4, 2108 0.00000 0.04318

Images and Observations

2016 EG28's orbit is determined by observations dating back to March 5, 2016. It was last officially observed on March 16, 2016. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 45 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 2016 EG28:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.809 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5709
  • Inclination: 8.11°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 344.47°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 112.32°
  • Mean Anomaly: 50.9°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.009 km
  • Magnitude: 27.9

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 889 days (2.43 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 22.14 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.84 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.78 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2016 EG28 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.