We use cookies to deliver essential features and to measure their performance. By using this site you accept our Privacy Policies.
A Complete Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
Help keep this site free and ads-free! Donate Now!
public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
SunriseRise: 5:53  
clear_day Transit: 12:57  
SunsetSet: 20:02
wb_twilight Nautical TwilightWhat's Visible Now?
Dwarf Planets and Asteroids » 

Asteroid 433 Eros

Altitude: -12.1°   Azimuth: 18.4°   Direction: North-North-East

Asteroid 433 Eros is an S-type asteroid located in the inner part of the asteroid belt. It was discovered on August 13, 1898 by Gustav Witt in Berlin and named after the Greek god of love. Eros is approximately 34.4 × 11.2 × 11.2 km in size, making it one of the larger near-Earth asteroids. Its orbital period is 1.76 years, and its average distance from the Sun is about 1.46 astronomical units (AU). Eros is notable for being the first asteroid to be orbited and landed on by a spacecraft, NASA's NEAR Shoemaker, in 2000.

Asteroid 433 Eros is currently in the constellation of Taurus, at a distance of 262,616,805 kilometers from Earth.

Finder chart of 433 Eros in Taurus on April,20 2024
Map showing Asteroid 433 Eros in Taurus on April, 20 2024. Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View interactive star map
The current Right Ascension of Asteroid 433 Eros is 04h 24m 36s and the Declination is +24° 28’ 22” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current magnitude of Asteroid 433 Eros is 12.78 (JPL).

04h 24m 36s
+24° 28’ 22”
Taurus
12.78

Today's rise, transit and set times of Asteroid 433 Eros from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 65.5°
Max altitude: 63.0°
Azimuth: 294.5°
  • 433 Eros is below the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.
  • Given its current magnitude, 433 Eros is visible with the help of a telescope having an aperture of 6 inches (150mm) or more.
  • Go to interactive sky chart

If you need to access this information frequently for your observations, you can create a simple customized Quick Access page, so that you can easily bookmark it in your browser favorites or add a shortcut to your mobile phones' home screen.

Additional Resources

Asteroid 433 Eros Position and Finder Charts

Finder chart of 433 Eros
Map showing Asteroid 433 Eros in Taurus on April, 20 2024
Field of view: 10x6 degrees
View fullscreen

Higher precision deep sky finder chart, 60 arcmin wide, showing where Asteroid 433 Eros is right now. Click on the image to see a more detailed fullscreen tracker view.

433 Eros
RA: 04h 24m 36s
Dec: +24° 28’ 22”
Deep sky finder chart for Asteroid 433 Eros
Field of view: 60x40 arcmins
View fullscreen

Also check out Where is Asteroid 433 Eros?, a page that provides all the information needed to find Asteroid 433 Eros in the sky and additional links to sky charts.

Asteroid 433 Eros Distance from Earth

The distance of Asteroid 433 Eros from Earth is currently 262,616,805 kilometers, equivalent to 1.755485 Astronomical Units. Light takes 14 minutes and 35.9954 seconds to travel from Asteroid 433 Eros and arrive to us.

262,616,805
1.755485
14 minutes and 35.9954 seconds

The following chart shows the distance of Asteroid 433 Eros from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance data is measured in Astronomical Units and sampled with an interval of 1 day.

Chart of the distance of Asteroid 433 Eros from Earth in Astronomical Units (au)

The value of the reported distance might be somewhat inaccurate around the times of closest approach for objects passing extremely close to Earth. The value of the distance of 433 Eros from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the Live Position and Data Tracker.

Closest Approach of Asteroid 433 Eros to Earth

Between 1 January 1900 and 31 December 2099, the closest approach of Asteroid 433 Eros to Earth happens on Mon Jan 24 2056 at a distance of 0.149800 Astronomical Units, or 22,409,694 kilometers:

Mon Jan 24 2056
22,409,694
0.149800

NOTE: values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.

Asteroid 433 Eros Brightness and Light Curve

The following chart is the predicted light curve (visual magnitude as a function of time) of Asteroid 433 Eros, according to the most recent ephemerides data. Magnitude data is sampled with a 2 days interval and there might be inaccuracies for objects changing brightness very rapidly during the course of a few days. For comets there could be large discrepancies between the observed and predicted brightness because of their highly dynamic behaviour.

Chart of the magnitude of Asteroid 433 Eros as a function of time

Asteroid 433 Eros Orbital Elements

The following table lists the orbital elements of Asteroid 433 Eros at epoch 24 February 2023 00:00 UTC (JD: 2460000.5). Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Element Symbol Value
Orbit eccentricity e 0.22278189
Orbit inclination i 10.82782330°
Perihelion distance q 1.13328437 AU
169,536,929 km
Aphelion distance Q 1.78297390 AU
266,729,100 km
Semi-major axis a 1.45812914 AU
218,133,014 km
Orbital period period 1.7608 years
643.1206 days
Date of perihelion transit Tp 2022-Aug-11 02:26:26
2,459,802.6017 JD
Next perihelion transit 2024-May-15 05:20
2,460,445.7223 JD
Argument of perihelion peri 178.92699517952°
Longitude of the ascending node node 304.28704011911°
Mean anomaly M 110.77765267464°
Mean motion n 0.55977061°/day

Visualization of Asteroid 433 Eros Orbit

This 3d orbit diagram is a feature of our 3D Solar System Simulator and shows the orbit of Asteroid 433 Eros with respect of the Sun and the orbits of the major planets. The position of Asteroid 433 Eros and the planets along their orbits in this diagram accurately represents the current configuration of the objects in the Solar System. This is an experimental feature and it requires a WebGL enabled browser. Please provide us feedback!

Orbit Diagram of Asteroid 433 Eros
View Asteroid 433 Eros in the 3D Solar System Simulator

Asteroid 433 Eros Physical Data

The following shows the known values of the most important physical parameters of Asteroid 433 Eros. Source: JPL Small-Body Database

Physical Parameter Value Relative to Earth
Diameter 16.84 km 0.0013
Sideral Rotation 5.2700 hours 0.2202
Absolute Magnitude 11.16
Geometric Albedo 0.25

Asteroid 433 Eros 15 Days Ephemeris

The following table lists the ephemerides of Asteroid 433 Eros computed for the past and next 7 days, with a 24 hours interval. Click on each row of the table to locate Asteroid 433 Eros in our Online Planetarium at the chosen date.

Date Right AscensionR.A. DeclinationDec. MagnitudeMag Constellation
2024 Apr 13 03h 56m 38s +24° 01’ 23” 12.80 Taurus
2024 Apr 14 04h 00m 30s +24° 06’ 14” 12.80 Taurus
2024 Apr 15 04h 04m 23s +24° 10’ 44” 12.79 Taurus
2024 Apr 16 04h 08m 17s +24° 14’ 53” 12.79 Taurus
2024 Apr 17 04h 12m 11s +24° 18’ 42” 12.79 Taurus
2024 Apr 18 04h 16m 06s +24° 22’ 09” 12.79 Taurus
2024 Apr 19 04h 20m 02s +24° 25’ 17” 12.78 Taurus
2024 Apr 20 04h 23m 58s +24° 28’ 03” 12.78 Taurus
2024 Apr 21 04h 27m 55s +24° 30’ 27” 12.78 Taurus
2024 Apr 22 04h 31m 53s +24° 32’ 29” 12.78 Taurus
2024 Apr 23 04h 35m 49s +24° 34’ 09” 12.77 Taurus
2024 Apr 24 04h 39m 48s +24° 35’ 27” 12.77 Taurus
2024 Apr 25 04h 43m 46s +24° 36’ 24” 12.77 Taurus
2024 Apr 26 04h 47m 45s +24° 36’ 59” 12.77 Taurus