523598 (2003 ED50)

Very small Apollo-class Asteroid

Near-Earth Potentially Hazardous
Space Reference » Apollo-class Asteroids » 523598 (2003 ED50)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Apollo-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a football field
  • Will pass within 7,593,841 km of Earth in 2023
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Classified as a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA)
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

523598 (2003 ED50) is a very small asteroid whose orbit crosses the orbit of Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2003 ED50 as a "Potentially Hazardous Asteroid" due to its predicted close pass(es) with Earth.

2003 ED50 orbits the sun every 615 days (1.68 years), coming as close as 0.64 AU and reaching as far as 2.19 AU from the sun. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2003 ED50 is probably between 0.179 to 0.400 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a football field.

Close Approaches

2003 ED50'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.

2003 ED50 has 13 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
Sept. 20, 2023 7,593,841 24.977
March 8, 2030 26,378,574 28.058
March 22, 2035 26,152,198 20.652
Sept. 12, 2050 21,375,077 21.502
March 15, 2062 4,656,409 24.336
Sept. 16, 2082 9,784,778 23.096
March 16, 2094 5,059,876 23.651
Sept. 19, 2114 5,996,807 24.000
March 20, 2126 14,026,265 22.206
Sept. 23, 2146 12,106,589 25.717
March 11, 2153 21,548,349 27.224
Sept. 13, 2173 20,003,421 21.730
March 16, 2185 5,129,860 24.297

Images and Observations

2003 ED50's orbit is determined by observations dating back to March 11, 2003. It was last officially observed on Sept. 14, 2018. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 145 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 2003 ED50:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 1.416 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.5466
  • Inclination: 33.73°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 173.51°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 93.97°
  • Mean Anomaly: 24.92°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.231 km
  • Magnitude: 20.86

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 615 days (1.68 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 25.05 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 2.19 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.64 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 523598 (2003 ED50) 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 2003 ED50 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.