Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 25,225,075 km of Earth in 2023
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2016 EM157 is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2016 EM157 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 EM157 orbits the sun every 282 days (0.77 years), coming as close as 0.59 AU and reaching as far as 1.09 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2016 EM157 is probably between 0.007 to 0.032 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2016 EM157'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 EM157 has 9 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
May 8, 2023 25,225,075 7.166
March 12, 2026 29,855,083 14.349
March 23, 2033 14,429,965 7.268
March 10, 2043 6,679,607 9.876
April 22, 2050 23,773,576 7.176
March 11, 2060 3,206,739 8.305
May 23, 2067 26,550,873 8.234
March 9, 2070 15,518,496 11.533
March 12, 2107 917,230 8.682

Images and Observations

2016 EM157's orbit is determined by observations dating back to March 14, 2016. It was last officially observed on March 17, 2016. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 41 observations used to determine its orbit.

Accessibility and Exploration

2016 EM157 can be reached with a journey of 354 days. This trajectory would require a delta-v of 11.992 km/s. To put this into perspective, the delta-v to launch a rocket to Low-Earth Orbit is 9.7 km/s. There are 1 potential trajectories and launch windows to this asteroid.

See more at the NHATS Mission Trajectories table for 2016 EM157.

Similar Objects

These objects have orbits that share similar characteristics to the orbit of 2016 EM157:

References

Search

   or view a random object

Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.8414 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.3003
  • Inclination: 10.3°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 171.11°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 218.28°
  • Mean Anomaly: 16.4°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.020 km
  • Magnitude: 26.9

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 282 days (0.77 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 32.46 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.09 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.59 AU

Map Comparison

Click to load map

Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2016 EM157 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.