221980 (1996 EO)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 221980 (1996 EO)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building (0.43 km diameter)
  • Will pass within 28,084,734 km of Earth in 2023
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

221980 (1996 EO) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 1996 EO as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

1996 EO orbits the sun every 568 days (1.56 years), coming as close as 0.80 AU and reaching as far as 1.88 AU from the sun. 1996 EO is about 0.4 kilometers in diameter, making it larger than 90% of asteroids but tiny compared to large asteroids, comparable in size to the U.S. Capitol building.

Close Approaches

1996 EO's orbit is 0.03 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.

1996 EO has 11 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Oct. 3, 2023 28,084,734 12.933
Sept. 24, 2037 17,202,201 13.717
Sept. 20, 2051 9,387,752 14.557
Sept. 20, 2065 10,507,644 14.426
Sept. 25, 2079 17,082,161 13.708
Oct. 4, 2093 29,753,356 12.815
Sept. 5, 2132 29,673,370 19.721
Sept. 10, 2146 16,854,034 17.704
Sept. 13, 2160 9,042,034 16.522
Sept. 14, 2174 9,561,769 16.613
Sept. 10, 2188 17,666,883 17.853

Images and Observations

1996 EO's orbit is determined by observations dating back to March 15, 1996. It was last officially observed on Sept. 7, 2020. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 127 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 1996 EO:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.342 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.4008
  • Inclination: 21.59°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 356.47°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 64.69°
  • Mean Anomaly: 319.83°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: 0.43200 km
  • Magnitude: 19.11
  • Albedo: 0.200

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 568 days (1.56 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 25.70 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.88 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.80 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 221980 (1996 EO) 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 1996 EO 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.