Your Guide to the Solar System and the Night Sky
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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
north SunriseRise: 4:50  
clear_day Transit: 12:56  
SunsetSet: 21:03 south
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Dwarf Planets and Asteroids » 

Asteroid 433 Eros

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 Aquarius.

The current Right Ascension of Asteroid 433 Eros is 22h 01m 27s and the Declination is -15° 17’ 12” (topocentric coordinates computed for the selected location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt). The current magnitude of Asteroid 433 Eros is 13.01 (JPL).

22h 01m 27s
-15° 17’ 12”
Aquarius
13.01

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: 105.4°
Max altitude: 23.2°
Azimuth: 254.7°
  • 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.

Available Resources

Asteroid 433 Eros Position and Finder Charts

Below we provide Asteroid 433 Eros finder charts showing where the object is right now in the sky with respect to the brightest stars. The first finder chart has a field of view of 50 degrees, while the second one has a field of view of 10 degrees. Click on each finder chart to access a full screen interactive Online Planetarium.

Finder chart of 433 Eros in Aquarius on May,31 2023
Map showing Asteroid 433 Eros in Aquarius on May, 31 2023
Field of view: 50x30 degrees
View fullscreen
Finder chart of 433 Eros
Map showing Asteroid 433 Eros in Aquarius on May, 31 2023
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: 22h 01m 27s
Dec: -15° 17’ 12”
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 187,283,727 kilometers, equivalent to 1.251914 Astronomical Units. Light takes 10 minutes and 24.7113 seconds to travel from Asteroid 433 Eros and arrive to us.

187,283,727
1.251914
10 minutes and 24.7113 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
2023 May 24 21h 53m 58s -16° 29’ 45” 13.16 Capricornus
2023 May 25 21h 55m 01s -16° 20’ 16” 13.14 Capricornus
2023 May 26 21h 56m 03s -16° 10’ 50” 13.12 Capricornus
2023 May 27 21h 57m 02s -16° 01’ 24” 13.10 Capricornus
2023 May 28 21h 58m 01s -15° 52’ 04” 13.09 Capricornus
2023 May 29 21h 58m 58s -15° 42’ 45” 13.07 Aquarius
2023 May 30 21h 59m 53s -15° 33’ 29” 13.05 Aquarius
2023 May 31 22h 00m 47s -15° 24’ 15” 13.03 Aquarius
2023 Jun 01 22h 01m 38s -15° 15’ 06” 13.01 Aquarius
2023 Jun 02 22h 02m 29s -15° 05’ 59” 12.99 Aquarius
2023 Jun 03 22h 03m 16s -14° 56’ 56” 12.97 Aquarius
2023 Jun 04 22h 04m 04s -14° 47’ 56” 12.95 Aquarius
2023 Jun 05 22h 04m 47s -14° 38’ 58” 12.93 Aquarius
2023 Jun 06 22h 05m 30s -14° 30’ 06” 12.91 Aquarius