527977 (2008 EY68)

Very small Aten-class Asteroid

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Space Reference » Aten-class Asteroids » 527977 (2008 EY68)

Key Facts

  • Categorized as a Aten-class Asteroid
  • Comparable in size to a school bus or smaller
  • Will pass within 18,666,539 km of Earth in 2026
  • Classified as a Near Earth Asteroid (NEA)
  • Not a Potentially Hazardous Object
  • See orbit simulation

Overview

527977 (2008 EY68) is a very small asteroid whose orbit could bring it in close proximity to Earth. NASA JPL has classified 2008 EY68 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.

2008 EY68 orbits the sun every 235 days (0.64 years), coming as close as 0.18 AU and reaching as far as 1.31 AU from the sun. Its orbit is highly elliptical. Based on its brightness and the way it reflects light, 2008 EY68 is probably between 0.092 to 0.206 kilometers in diameter, making it a small to average asteroid, very roughly comparable in size to a school bus or smaller.

Close Approaches

2008 EY68's orbit is 0.04 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.

2008 EY68 has 22 close approaches predicted in the coming decades:

Date Distance from Earth (km) Velocity (km/s)
March 10, 2026 18,666,539 19.950
March 10, 2035 16,656,501 20.253
March 9, 2044 15,299,932 20.442
March 10, 2053 14,604,358 20.543
March 10, 2062 14,035,691 20.648
March 10, 2071 14,423,521 20.587
March 10, 2080 15,132,816 20.453
March 10, 2089 16,241,225 20.305
March 11, 2098 18,261,144 20.017
March 12, 2107 20,185,705 19.748
March 12, 2116 22,507,406 19.489
March 17, 2123 28,165,369 28.537
March 13, 2125 25,147,805 19.207
March 15, 2132 25,032,734 27.842
March 14, 2134 27,465,144 18.980
March 15, 2141 21,331,049 27.025
March 14, 2150 18,370,563 26.345
March 14, 2159 15,543,351 25.726
March 13, 2168 13,253,750 25.224
March 13, 2177 12,049,897 24.947
March 13, 2186 11,426,308 24.800
March 14, 2195 11,902,265 24.935

Images and Observations

2008 EY68's orbit is determined by observations dating back to March 11, 2008. It was last officially observed on April 26, 2021. The IAU Minor Planet Center records 94 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 2008 EY68:

References

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Orbital Elements

  • Epoch: 2460200.5 JD
  • Semi-major axis: 0.745 AU
  • Eccentricity: 0.76
  • Inclination: 19.79°
  • Longitude of Ascending Node: 175.47°
  • Argument of Periapsis: 199.0°
  • Mean Anomaly: 138.98°

Physical Characteristics

  • Diameter: ~0.119 km
  • Magnitude: 22.3

Derived Characteristics

  • Orbit Period: 235 days (0.64 years)
  • Avg. Orbit Speed: 34.49 km/s
  • Aphelion Distance: 1.31 AU
  • Perihelion Distance: 0.18 AU

Map Comparison

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Orbit Simulation

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Sky Map

The position of 527977 (2008 EY68) 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 2008 EY68 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.