Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 25,120,688 km of Earth in 2020
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

2022 EW2 is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2022 EW2 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.

2022 EW2 orbits the sun every 434 days (1.19 years), coming as close as 0.63 AU and reaching as far as 1.61 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2022 EW2 is probably between 0.014 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

2022 EW2'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.

2022 EW2 has 7 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Aug. 16, 2020 25,120,688 8.233
Feb. 28, 2022 4,776,426 12.186
July 30, 2026 27,916,881 18.643
Aug. 16, 2058 24,437,105 8.380
Feb. 27, 2060 8,149,373 11.512
Aug. 9, 2096 5,094,722 12.162
Feb. 20, 2098 27,930,498 7.529

Images and Observations

2022 EW2's orbit is determined by observations dating back to March 5, 2022. It was last officially observed on March 10, 2022. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 26 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 2022 EW2:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2459644.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.122 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.439
  • Inclination: 0.91°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 147.53°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 271.93°
  • Mean Anomaly: 55.43°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.018 km
  • Magnitude: 26.37

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 434 days (1.19 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 28.13 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.61 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.63 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

Sky Map

The position of 2022 EW2 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.