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.
Find it in the Sky
Chose a date & time and view the position of asteroid 433 Eros in the sky on our interactive planetarium.
In Evidence
Asteroid 433 Eros
Asteroid 433 Eros is in the constellation of Pisces, at a distance of
Finder Charts
The sky charts below show, at different resolutions, the position of asteroid 433 Eros in the sky. Click on each chart to access the interactive star map tool.
The following map uses photographic imagery from the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) to realistically visualize the precise position of asteroid 433 Eros against the stars in the background. The horizontal size of the map measures 60 arcminutes. Click on the image to access a more detailed full-screen view.
Equatorial Coordinates
Apparent
J2000
Additional Information
Rise and Set Times
The following table lists today's rise, transit and set times of asteroid 433 Eros from Greenwich, UK (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):
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.
Distance from Earth
The distance of asteroid 433 Eros from Earth is currently
The following graph shows the distance of asteroid 433 Eros from Earth as a function of time. In the chart the distance is measured in Astronomical Units and the data is sampled with an interval of 1 day.
Note: The values in this chart may not be entirely accurate around the time of closest approach for objects passing very close to Earth at high speed (e.g., Near-Earth Objects).
The value of the distance of 433 Eros from Earth is also available as a real time updated value in the live position tracker.
Closest Approach to Earth
In the period between January 1, 1900 and December 31, 2099, the closest approach of asteroid 433 Eros to Earth will happen on Monday 24 January 2056 at a distance of 0.149800 Astronomical Units, or 22,409,694 kilometers:
Note: the values for the closest approach are computed with a sampling interval of 1 day.
Light Curve
The following chart shows the light curve of asteroid 433 Eros, i.e., its apparent magnitude as a function of time. The curve is calculated using the latest ephemerides provided by JPL Horizons. The magnitude data is sampled with the interval of 2 days. Because of this sampling, inaccuracies may occur for objects that have large variations of brightness over a few days. For comets, large discrepancies can arise between the calculated brightness and the observations due to their highly dynamic, and not always precisely predictable, behavior.
Orbital Elements
The following table lists the orbital elements of asteroid 433 Eros at epoch February, 24 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 | August 11, 2022 2,459,802.6017 JD |
| Next perihelion transit | May 15, 2024 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 |
Orbit Visualization
The following chart is a 3D animated visualization of the orbit of asteroid 433 Eros relative to the other major objects in the Solar System. You can access more advanced features using our 3D Solar System Viewer.
Physical Properties
The table below lists the known key physical properties of asteroid 433 Eros. The source for this data is the 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 |
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. Apparent celestial coordinates are provided.
| Date | Right AscensionR.A. | DeclinationDec. | MagnitudeMag | Constellation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 08 2025 | 00h 51m 15s | +13° 57’ 03” | 13.17 | Pisces |
| Jul 09 2025 | 00h 52m 48s | +14° 15’ 16” | 13.15 | Pisces |
| Jul 10 2025 | 00h 54m 20s | +14° 33’ 30” | 13.13 | Pisces |
| Jul 11 2025 | 00h 55m 52s | +14° 51’ 48” | 13.11 | Pisces |
| Jul 12 2025 | 00h 57m 23s | +15° 10’ 08” | 13.09 | Pisces |
| Jul 13 2025 | 00h 58m 55s | +15° 28’ 31” | 13.07 | Pisces |
| Jul 14 2025 | 01h 00m 25s | +15° 46’ 57” | 13.05 | Pisces |
| Jul 15 2025 | 01h 01m 55s | +16° 05’ 25” | 13.03 | Pisces |
| Jul 16 2025 | 01h 03m 25s | +16° 23’ 55” | 13.01 | Pisces |
| Jul 17 2025 | 01h 04m 54s | +16° 42’ 29” | 12.99 | Pisces |
| Jul 18 2025 | 01h 06m 22s | +17° 01’ 05” | 12.97 | Pisces |
| Jul 19 2025 | 01h 07m 50s | +17° 19’ 45” | 12.94 | Pisces |
| Jul 20 2025 | 01h 09m 18s | +17° 38’ 27” | 12.92 | Pisces |
| Jul 21 2025 | 01h 10m 46s | +17° 57’ 11” | 12.90 | Pisces |
Additional Resources on TheSkyLive
- Asteroid 433 Eros: Complete reference information on TheSkyLive.com.
- Where is asteroid 433 Eros?: Key information on where to find asteroid 433 Eros in the sky.
- Distance of asteroid 433 Eros from Earth: Find out how far asteroid 433 Eros is from Earth right now.
- How Bright is asteroid 433 Eros?: Current visual brightness (magnitude) and apparent size.
- Rise and Set Times: Rise and set times of asteroid 433 Eros from your location.
- Interactive Sky Map: Planetarium-style interactive visualization of asteroid 433 Eros's position in the sky.
- Live Position Tracker: High precision real time tracker of asteroid 433 Eros's position using deep space imagery.
- Ephemeris: 15 days asteroid 433 Eros's computed ephemeris.
- Orbital elements: Information about asteroid 433 Eros orbital parameters.
- Orbit Visualization: 3D interactive visualization showing the orbit of asteroid 433 Eros with respect to the major Solar System objects.
- Physical Data: Detailed information about physical properties of asteroid 433 Eros.