2016 QE45

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 2016 QE45

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a basketball court
  • Will pass within 5,073,358 km of Earth in 2021
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2016 QE45 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2016 QE45 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2016 QE45 orbits the sun every 512 days (1.40 years), coming as close as 0.59 AU and reaching as far as 1.91 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2016 QE45 is probably between 0.117 to 0.262 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a basketball court.

Close Approaches

2016 QE45's orbit is 0.01 AU from Earth's orbit at its closest point. This means that its orbit is relatively close to Earth's orbit.

2016 QE45 has 15 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
April 24, 2021 5,073,358 15.259
April 28, 2028 11,841,390 18.162
Oct. 4, 2068 12,267,598 18.360
Oct. 11, 2075 6,439,870 14.690
April 19, 2080 16,733,553 12.763
Oct. 19, 2082 26,351,565 10.784
April 26, 2087 4,383,057 16.390
May 4, 2094 27,127,132 21.206
Oct. 1, 2120 25,112,167 20.902
Oct. 10, 2127 863,535 16.078
Oct. 6, 2134 10,675,750 18.048
Sept. 30, 2141 27,673,890 21.413
May 4, 2185 19,963,822 19.773
April 29, 2192 5,650,335 16.677
April 26, 2199 6,858,595 14.876

Images and Observations

2016 QE45's orbit is determined by observations dating back to Sept. 5, 2002. It was last officially observed on May 27, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 109 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 QE45:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.253 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5257
  • Inclination: 4.85°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 18.9°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 95.73°
  • Mean Anomaly: 292.39°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.151 km
  • Magnitude: 21.78

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 512 days (1.40 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 26.62 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.91 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.59 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 2016 QE45 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 2016 QE45 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.